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FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 
A  LITERARY  RELATIONSHIP 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  lACULTY 

OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOI.  OF  ARTS  ;\ND  LIT^.RATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FCR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PxilJOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  ROMANCE  LANGUAGES  AJTD  Llir..Ar    uF' 


BY 


/^CN.-'?  RUTHERFORD  RIDDELL 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO.  ILLINOIS 


X 


u 


Ube  mnivctsit^  ot  Cbicago 


FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 
A  LITERARY  RELATIONSHIP 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY 

OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND  LITERATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARXliENT  OF  ROMANCE  LANGUAGES  AND  LITERATURES 


BY 

AGNES  RUTHERFORD  RIDDELL 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


COPYBIGHT  1920  By 

The  University  of  Chicago 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Published  Febniary  1920 


Composed  and  Printed  By 

The  University  of  Chicagro  Press 

Chicaso,  Illinois.  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

The  publication  of  this  dissertation  has  been  delayed  by  the  war, 
as  it  has  been  impossible  to  visit  the  libraries  of  Europe  for  books 
and  articles  not  to  be  found  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Permission 
to  publish  has  now  been  granted  the  writer  by  the  Department  of 
Romance  Languages  and  Literatures,  with  the  understanding  that, 
if  necessary,  additions  to  or  revisions  of  the  dissertation  may  be 
issued  by  her  after  she  has  examined  the  material  in  Europe. 

This  dissertation  has  been  written  under  the  direction  of  Pro- 
fessor E.  P.  Dargan,  to  whose  invaluable  and  untiring  encouragement 
and  counsel  the  writer  acknowledges  with  pleasure  her  very  great 
indebtedness.  She  desires  further  to  express  her  thanks  for  much 
valuable  advice  to  Professor  Nitze,  head  of  the  Department  of 
Romance  Languages  and  Literatures.  To  Professor  Pietsch,  Pro- 
fessor Jenkins,  Professor  Wilkins,  Professor  Coleman,  Assistant 
Professor  Parmenter,  and  others  who  have  assisted  her  from  time 
to  time  during  the  composition  of  the  dissertation  with  facts  and  sug- 
gestions, she  wishes  also  to  record  her  gratitude. 


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TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGB 

Abbreviations        ...» ix 

CHAPTER 

I.    History  of  the  Personal  Relationship i 

II.    Discussion   and   Exemplification   of   Definitely    Stated 

Theories  Regarding  Life  (with  Introduction)       .      .11 

III.  Discussion   and   Exemplification    of    Definitely   Stated 

Theories  Regarding  Literary  Procedure      ....      21 

IV.  Likeness  in  Employment  of  General  Realistic  Devices      .    38 

V.     Resemblances  in  Plot,  Incident,  Characterization,  Ideas 

AND  Wording         63 

VI.     Summary  and  Conclusion 109 

Bibliography iii 


ABBREVIATIONS 

In  referring  to  the  works  of  Flaubert  and  Maupassant,  the  following 
abbreviations  are  used  throughout  the  notes  of  the  dissertation  in  order 
to  save  space.  Where  the  reference  is  to  a  short  story,  the  title  of  the 
volume  in  which  it  is  contained  is  given  first,  and  then  the  name  of  the 
story  (abbreviated  in  many  cases). 

Flaubert 

M.B.     . Madame  Bovary 

L'Ed.S L'Education  sentimentale 

Sal Salammbo 

T.C   (U.C.S. ;  L.L.d.S.J.l'H  ;Trois  Contes  (Un  Coeur  simple;  La  Legende 

Her.) de  Saint  Julien  I'Hospitalier,  Herodias) 

L.T.d.S.-A La  Tentation  de  Saint-Antoine 

O.d.J Oeuvres  de  jeunesse 

N.d.V Notes  de  voyages 

P.l.C.e.p.l.G Par  les  Champs  et  par  les  Greves 

Corr Correspondance 

B.e.P.       ......      Bouvard  et  Pecuchet 

Maupassant 

D.V Des  Vers    '" 

B.d.S Boule  de  Suif    -^ 

P.e.J Pierre  et  Jean   ^ 

Mlle.F Mademoiselle  Fifi  ^ 

M.Par Monsieur  Parent  u 

L.R.d.M.H Le  Rosier  de  Madame  Husson  - 

Au  S Au  Soleil   > 

L.M.G La  Main  Gauche 

U.V UneVie 

L.P.R La  Petite  Roque 

S.l'E Surl'Eau 

F.c.l.M Fort  comme  la  Mort 

N.C Notre  Coeur 

L.M.T La  Maison  Tellier 

L.V.E La  Vie  Errante 

L.H Le  Horla 

C.d.l.B.  or  Bee Contes  de  la  Becassc 

ix 


X  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

O.P Oeuvres  posthumes    ' 

M.Har Miss  Harriet 

L.S.R Les  Soeurs  Rondoli  ^ 

M.-O Mont-Oriol 

C.d  J.e.d.l.N Contes  du  Jour  et  de  la  Nuit  • 

L'l.B L'inutile  Beaute  - 

B.-A Bel-Ami     ^ 

C.d.L.   . Clair  de  Lune   ^ 

Italicized  words  in  quotations  marked  thus  *  are  italicized  in  the  text. 
Where  this  mark  is  not  used  the  italics  are  the  writer's. 


CHAPTER  I 
HISTORY  OF  THE  PERSONAL  RELATIONSHIP 

Flaubert's  connection  with  the  Maupassant  family  began  through 
the  friendship  between  his  mother  and  the  mother  of  his  companions, 
Alfred  and  Laure  Le  Poittevin,^  the  latter  of  whom  became,  in  1850, 
the  mother  of  Guy  de  Maupassant.^  The  relationship  with  Alfred 
Le  Poittevin  continued  until  the  latter 's  death  in  1848,^  as  is  evi- 
denced by  the  frequent  mention  of  him  in  the  Correspondance  and 
elsewhere  in  Flaubert's  works,*  by  the  letters  addressed  to  him,^ 
and  by  the  dedication  to  him  of  La  Tentation  de  Saint-Antoine  and 
of  two  youthful  attempts.®  Some  years  older  than  Gustave,  Alfred 
Le  Poittevin  seems  to  have  had  upon  him  considerable  influence. 
For  present  purposes  the  friendship  is  interesting  mainly  because 
it  gives  rise  to  the  speculation  as  to  how  far  Flaubert's  relationship 
with  the  nephew  is  traceable  to  his  friendship  with  the  uncle. 

With  Laure  Le  Poittevin,  who  married,  in  1846,  Gustave  de 
Maupassant,  Flaubert  maintained  his  friendship  as  long  as  he  lived.^ 
She  seems,  however,  to  have  passed  out  of  his  ken  during  the  early 
years  of  her  married  life.®  The  first  letter  to  her  included  in  the 
Correspondance  dates  from  1863.^  Others  follow  in  1866,  1872,  and 
1873  (2).^^  In  these  letters  reference  is  made  to  Alfred;  mention 
also  occurs  of  Laure's  son  Guy  and  of  the  growing  affection  of 
Flaubert  for  him,  partly  on  the  lad's  own  account  and  partly  because 

^  Flaubert,  Corr.,  I :    Souvenirs  intimes  de  Mme.  de  Commanville,  p.  ix. 
-"    2  Maynial,  La  vie  et  I'oeuvre  de  Maupassant,  p.  24.  / 

8  Ibid.,  p.  21. 

4  For  example,  Corr.,  I,  24,  33,  35,  39,  45,  54,  60,  62,  74,  77,  96,  167,  191,  207, 
298,  301,  402,  459;  II,  23,  92,  191-93;  N.d.V.,  I,  89;  P.l.C.e.p.l.G.,  pp.  337,  339, 
etc. 

5  Corr.,  I,  147,  150,  153,  159,  162,  173  (1845),  187,  188  (1846). 
«  0.d.J.,  1, 401 ;  II,  121. 

^  Maynial,  op.  cit.,  pp.  23  and  21.  Maynial  gives  a  very  full  account  of  the 
personal  relationship  between  Flaubert  and  Maupassant,  to  which  the  present 
chapter  is  much  indebted.  The  acknowledgment  is  made  here  once  for  all, 
except  in  the  case  of  specific  references. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  22.  9  Corr.,  Ill,  384,  418;  IV,  138,  158,  185.         10  Ibid. 


:»'•'  I  ;•" ; '  c '     ;  .  .  .  i?LA  UBERT  AND  MA  UP  ASS  ANT 

of  his  strong  resemblance  to  his  uncle."    This  is  the  beginning  of 
a  letter  in  Correspondance,  IV,  158: 

Tu  m'as  prevenu,  ma  chere  Laure,  car  depuis  un  mois  je  voulais 
t'ecrire  pour  te  faire  une  declaration  de  tendresse  a  I'endroit  de  ton  fils. 
Tu  ne  saurais  croire  comme  je  le  trouve  charmant,  intelligent,  bon  enfant, 
sense  et  spirituel,  bref  (pour  employer  un  mot  a  la  mode)  sympathique! 
Malgre  la  difference  de  nos  ages  je  le  regarde  comme  «un  ami,»  et  puis 
il  me  rappelle  tant  mon  pauvre  Alfred !  J'en  liuis  meme  parfois  effraye, 
surtout  lorsqu'il  baisse  la  tete,  en  recitant  des  vers. 

Flaubert  advises  her  to  encourage  her  son  in  his  taste  for  verse 
writing  and  holds  out  hope  that  in  time  the  young  man  may  accom- 
plish something  worthy  of  literary  fame.  In  a  letter  in  Correspon- 
dance (IV,  185),  Flaubert  again  expresses  his  affection  for  Guy  and 
^declares  himself  willing  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  help  him. 

The  letters  to  Guy  de  Maupassant  himself  included  in  the  Cor- 
respondance begin  in  1873  and  continue  until  the  year  of  Flaubert's 
death.  They  are  thirty-seven  in  number  ^^  and  contain  criticism, 
warning,  and  advice  regarding  literary  and  other  matters,  requests 
for  information  and  for  counsel,  explanation  of  commissions  to 
execute,  thanks  for  services  rendered,  messages  to  Mme  de  Maupas- 
sant and  to  friends,  accounts  of  the  older  man's  own  doings,  and 
current  gossip.  In  one  Flaubert  calls  Guy  "mon  tres  aime  disciple. "^^ 
Another  is  a  species  of  manifesto  on  the  relation  of  art  to  morality. 
It  upholds  "le  culte  de  la  femme"  on  the  authority  of  great  writers 
of  ancient  and  modern  times  and  enunciates  the  theories,  to  be 
discussed  in  later  chapters  of  this  thesis,  of  "art  for  art's  sake," 
and  of  the  persecution  of  literature  by  the  public.^*  This  epistle, 
cast  in  a  tone  of  ironic  exasperation  at  the  "betise"  of  the  prosecu- 
tion occasioning  the  letter,  was  written  for  insertion  in  the  Gaulois 
to  defend  Maupassant  against  a  threatened  lawsuit,  brought  on  by 
the  unauthorized  publication  of  fragments  from  one  of  his  poems. 
It  now  appears,  somewhat  changed,  as  a  preface  to  the  latter's 
volume  of  verses.^**    The  personal  literary  advice  contained  in  the 

"  Corr,,  IV,  185. 

12  Corr.,  IV,  166,  223,  266,  269,  273,  278,  285,  313,  315,  319,  335,  345,  34^,  349, 
350,  357,  363,  382,  386,  388,  391,  396,  397,  401,  405,  411,  414,  417,  418,  423,  425,  427, 
427,  428,  429,  430,  431. 

13  Corr.,  IV,  391- 

1*  See  below,  pp.  36,  20.  ^^  D.V.,  pp.  xxvii-xxxi. 


PRESONAL  RELATIONSHIP  3 

letters  is  valuable  here  because  it  throws  light  upon  the  method  of 
training  to  which  Flaubert  subjected  his  pupil.  The  older  man  shows 
keen  interest  in  everything  written  by  the  younger  and  is  constantly 
asking  for  news  of  his  efforts.  When  Maupassant  is  trying  to 
secure  a  position  on  the  journals,  Flaubert  suggests  to  him  subjects 
for  articles.^^  An  article  on  himself  wins  his  thanks;  another  is 
"fine,"  a  third  "good."^^  The  last-mentioned,  however — on  French 
poetry — does  not  do  justice  to  Ronsard.  Remarks  on  individual 
works  are  very  specific,  praise  being  tempered  with  blame.  The 
following  are  examples  of  generally  commendatory  criticism. 

Cest  trks  bien  votre  Venus*  Je  n'y  vois  rien  a  reprendre  que  deux 
petites  incorrections  grammaticales,  mais  elles  peuvent  se  defendre.^* 

Quant  a  votre  mur*  ^^  plain  de  vers  splendides,  il  y  a  des  disparates 
de  ton.  Ainsi  le  mot  bagatelle*  vous  verse  une  douche  glacee.  L'effet 
comique  arrive  trop  tot,  mais  admettons  que  je  n'aie  rien  dit;  il  faut 
voir  I'ensemble.^o 

The  following  passage  is  a  sample  of  severe  criticism.  Although 
somewhat  long,  it  is  quoted  in  its  entirety  because  it  shows  with 
what  vigorous  censure  the  master  corrected  the  disciple  on  occasion. 

Maintenant  causons  de  Desirs.*  Eh  bien!  mon  jeune  homme,  la 
dite  piece  ne  me  plait  pas  du  tout.    Elle  indique  une  facilite  deplorable. 

Un  de  mes  chers  desirs*  un  desir  qui  est  cher!  Avoir  des  ailes* 
parbleu !  le  souhait  est  commun.  Les  deux  vers  suivants  sont  bons,  mais 
au  quatrieme  les  oiseaux  surpris*  ne  sont  pas  surpris  puisque  tu  es  a 
les  poursuivre.    A  moins  que  surpris  ne  veuille  dire  etonnes? 

1^  For  example,  Corr.,  IV,  274.  The  numerous  articles  which  Maupassant 
wrote  for  reviews  and  journals  have,  with  few  exceptions,  never  been  reprinted 
(Maynial,  op.  cit.,  p.  213).  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  at  the  present  moment, 
for  the  writer  of  this  thesis  to  say  from  personal  observation  how  far  these 
suggestions  of  Flaubert's  were  carried  out. 

Mahn,  Guy  de  Maupassant,  sein  Leben  und  seine  Werke,  gives,  in  his  chap- 
ter entitled  "Der  Journalist,"  pp.  125-66,  an  account  of  his  researches  on  the 
subject  of  these  articles  at  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale.  Maupassant  wrote  espe- 
cially for  Le  Gaulois  and  Le  Gil  Bias,  as  well  as  for  numerous  other  journals. 
The  content  of  the  articles,  as  described  by  Mahn,  does  not  differ  in  kind  from 
that  of  the  author's  collected  works. 

17  Corr.,  IV,  273,  319,  285.  18  Corr.,  IV,  386. 

i^A  reference  apparently  to  Maupassant's  poem  Le  Mur.  The  word  mur 
is  printed  in  the  Conard  edition  of  Flaubert's  Correspondance  with  a  small 
letter. 

20  Corr.,  IV,  397. 


4  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Je  voudrais,  je  voudrais*  Avec  une  pareille  tournure  on  peut  aller 
indefiniment  tant  qu'on  a  de  I'encre !     Et  la  composition  ?    Ou  est-elle  ? 

Ainsi  qu'tm  grand  flambeau  *  I'image  me  semble  comique;  outre 
qu'un  flambeau  ne  laisse  pas  de  flamme,  puisqu'il  la  porte. 

Des  fronts  en  cheveux  noirs  aux  fronts  en  cheveux  roux. 

Charmant,  mais  rappelle  trop  le  vers  de  Menard : 

Sous  tes  cheveux  chatains  et  sous  tes  cheveux  gris. 

«Oui  je  voudrais.*    Pourquoi  ouif* 

Clair  de  lune*  excellent. 

L'affolante  bataille*  atroce! 

En  somme  je  t'engage  a  supprimer  cette  piece,  elle  n'est  pas  a  la 
hauteur  des  autres. 

La-dessus  ton  vieux  t'embrasse.     Severe,  mais  juste.^i 

In  the  foregoing  three  passages  the  form  of  criticism  is  that  of 
specific  comment,  with  some  general  remarks.  No  point  is  allowed 
to  pass  which  offends  against  Flaubert's  uncompromising  standards 
of  originality,  of  correctness,  of  artistic  fitness.  Venus,  for  example, 
contains  "two  slight  grammatical  errors."  The  word  "bagatelle" 
in  le  Mur  has  "a  chilling  effect."  The  poem  Desirs  shows  "a  deplor- 
able facility."  Avoir  des  diles  is  a  commonplace  expression.  The 
word  "surpris"  is  ambiguous,  the  word  "oui"  superfluous.  The 
image  of  the  torch  is  inappropriate.  The  line  quoted  is  a  plagiarism. 
And  so  on.  The  strictures  on  these  poems  illustrate  certain  of 
Flaubert's  literary  theories  which  will  be  considered  later  in  this 
thesis,  as,  for  instance,  his  insistence  on  the  "mot  juste,"  his  dislike 
of  "idees  regues,"  etc.^^  As  the  poems  now  appear  in  the  volume 
Des  Vers  we  may  observe  that  the  expressions  criticized  have  gen- 
erally been  altered,^^  showing  Maupassant's  deference  to  the  opin- 
ions of  Flaubert. 

In  commenting  on  Boule  de  Suif,  the  "conte  rouennais"  con- 
cerning which  Maupassant  had  apparently  thrown  out  mysterious 
hints  before  its  appearance  in  the  Soirees  de  Me  dan,  Flaubert  is 
most  enthusiastic.^*  It  is  the  best  thing  in  the  volume,  a  real 
masterpiece,  original,  well  thought  out,  excellently  written.     Land- 

21  Corr.,  IV,  424.  The  poem  was  not  "suppressed,"  as  it  appears  in  the  vol- 
ume Des  Vers  (pp.  67-68),  but  some  of  the  expressions  censured  have  been 
changed. 

22  See  below,  pp.  28-31,  27. 

23  Cf.  Maynial,  op.  cit,  p.  89;  £>.  V.,  pp.  67-68. 

24  Corr.,  IV,  392,  397-99. 


PERSONAL  RELATIONSHIP  5 

scapes  and  characters  are  vividly  conceived;  the  psychology  is 
"strong" ;  Cornudet  is  "immense  et  vrai" ;  the  nun  with  the  small- 
pox marks  on  her  face  is  "parfaite";  the  scene  where  Boule  de 
Suif  weeps  while  Cornudet  sings  the  "Marseillaise"  is  "sublime." 
Then  comes  the  minute  reservation  of  the  conscientious  mentor : 

Eh  bien,  precisement*  parce  que  c'est  raide  de  fond  et  embetant 
pour  les  bourgeois,  j'enleverais  deux  choses,  qui  ne  sont  pas  mauvaises 
du  tout,  mais  qui  peuvent  faire  crier  les  imbeciles,  parce  qu'elles  ont 

I'air  de  dire:     "Moi  je  m'en  f ":    1°   dans  quelles   f rises,  etc.,  ce 

jeune  homme  jette  de  la  fange  a  nos  armes;  et  2°  le  mot  tetons*  Apres 
quoi  le  gout  le  plus  begueule  n'aurait  rien  a  vous  reprocher  [p.  398] . 

In  a  subsequent  letter,  after  saying  that  he  has  re-read  Boule  de 
Suif,  Flaubert  adds:  "Tache  d'en  faire  une  douzaine  comme  ca! 
et  tu  seras  un  homme  !"-^  Such  advice  gives  some  ground  for  the 
remark  of  Mme  de  Maupassant,  quoted  farther  on,^^  that  it  was 
Flaubert  who  wished  to  make  a  novelist  of  her  son.^^  That  the  older 
man  personally  knew  the  young  Guy  mainly  as  a  writer  of  verses 
and  an  aspirant  for  dramatic  honors,  especially  the  former,  is  true, 
however,  as  one  can  gather  from  what  Maynial  says^®  and  from 
the  comments  in  the  letters.  Maupassant  tells  us  that  he  tried  his 
hand  at  all  kinds  of  composition  during  his  seven  years'  appren- 
ticeship.^^  Verse  writing  nevertheless  seems  to  have  predominated. 
His  early  fondness  for  this  form  may  be,  in  part,  a  residue  from 
the  influence  of  Bouilhet,  under  which  he  passed  two  years  before 
he  knew  Flaubert.^^  Maynial  suggests  also  that  verse  came  more 
spontaneously  than  prose  to  Maupassant,  and  satisfied  better  than 
prose  the  young  writer's  desire  for  immediate  productiveness.^^ 
There  is  a  certain  tone  of  curiosity  or  of  delighted  surprise  in 
Flaubert's  remarks  on  Boule  de  Suif  which  seems  to  indicate  that 
the  pupil  had  exceeded  the  master's  expectations,  giving  hints  of 
possibilities  hardly  suspected  hitherto.  Hence  the  advice  to  aim, 
if  possible,  at  persistence  in  the  same  type  of  performance.  Mean- 
while references  to  the  verses  continue.  When  the  volume  Des  Vers 
appears  shortly  after  the  publication  of  the  Soirees  de  Medan, 
Flaubert  expresses  his  approval,^^  as  he  has  done  in  the  case  of 

25  Corr.,  IV,  426.  29  See  below,  p.  9. 

26  See  below,  p.  7.  ^^P.e.J.:    ^Le  Romans,  p.  xxii. 

27  D.  v.,  p.  xxi ;  Maynial,  op.  cit.,  p.  44.       si  Maynial,  op.  cit.,  p.  80. 

28  Ibid.,  p.  80.  82  Corr.,  IV,  427. 


1 


6  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Bottle  de  Suif.  What  pleases  him  about  this  effort  is  that  it  is 
"personal"  and  does  not  adopt  the  formula  of  any  school.  "Pas 
de  chic!  pas  de  pose!  ni  parnassien,  ni  realiste  (ou  impressioniste, 
ou  naturaliste)."  (Flaubert  especially  detested  these  modern  shib- 
/  boleths.)  He  wishes  Maupassant  to  collect  for  him  everything  that 
is  published  on  Boule  de  Suif  and  on  the  verses.^^  In  this  we  see 
\^  the  eager  interest  of  the  master  in  a  favorite  disciple. 

We  have  given  examples  of  Flaubert's  specific  criticism  of 
Maupassant;  more  general  literary  advice  is  not  lacking.  Guy 
must  not  allow  his  mode  of  life  to  interfere  with  his  art.  A  man 
who  aspires  to  the  name  of  "artist"  has  no  right  to  live  as  do 
others ;  his  only  principle  must  be  the  necessity  of  sacrificing  every- 
thing to  art.  He  warns  the  young  man  also  against  brooding  and 
conjures  him  to  work  harder.  "II  faut,*  entendez-vous,  jeune 
homme,  il  faut  *  travailler  plus  que  ga.  ...  Vous  etes  ne  pour  f aire 
des  vers,  f aites-en  !"^* 

Another  form  of  literary  training  probably  not  less  important 
than  the  above-mentioned,  because  it  furnished  the  example  to  estab- 
lish the  precept,  is  emphasized  by  Maynial.^^  Flaubert  associated 
his  pupil  with  himself  in  the  composition  of  Bouvard  et  Pecuchet, 
seeking  from  him  precise  information  on  many  points  and  detailing 
at  length  his  own  efforts  toward  accuracy  and  precision.  For  in- 
stance, he  needs  for  a  particular  episode  in  his  story  a  certain  kind  of 
hillside  slope,  and  Maupassant  must  suggest  to  him  a  place  near 
Havre  which  will  fulfil  the  requirements.^^  Or  the  young  man 
becomes  the  confidant  of  Flaubert's  chagrin  at  M.  Baudry's  question- 
ing of  his  botanical  exactness.^^  Other  examples  of  a  like  nature  are 
to  be  found  in  the  Correspondance. 

In  letters  from  Flaubert  to  various  persons  during  the  later  years 
/  of  his  life  there  is  frequent  mention  of  Maupassant  and  of  the  young 
man's  mother,  the  former  being  often  called  "mon  disciple,"  occa- 
sionally "mon  eleve."^*  These  letters  are  sometimes  written  to  help 
the  beginner  in  his  prospects,  or  refer  to  Guy's  doings  and  to  the 
writer's  interest  in  him.^^ 

S3  Corr.,  IV,  427.  35  Maynial,  op.  cit.,  pp.  68-69. 

8*  Corr.,  IV,  336.  ^«  Corr.,  IV,  3i3-i5- 

37  Corr.,  IV,  429  ff- 

38  For  example,  Corr.,  V,  323,  421. 

39  For  example,  Corr.,  IV,  384,  395"96;  V,  445,  452,  455,  etc. 


PERSONAL  RELATIONSHIP  7 

Besides  the  letters  of  Flaubert  there  are  several  from  Mme  de 
Maupassant  and  from  her  son  to  their  common  friend  which  give 
evidence  of  the  relationship  between  the  two  men.  In  the  "Notes" 
to  the  volume  containing  Flaubert's  Theatre  there  is  an  epistle  by 
Mme  de  Maupassant  in  which  she  speaks  of  the  friendship  and  says, 
"Comme  le  disciple  appartient  au  maitre  !"***  In  the  volume  of  Mau- 
passant's verses  there  are  some  letters  from  his  mother  to  Flaubert 
in  which  she  often  mentions  her  two  sons,  refers  to  her  anxiety 
regarding  Guy's  future,  asks  for  her  old  friend's  advice  and  assis- 
tance in  the  matter,  thanks  him  for  his  kindness  to  the  young  man, 
or  assures  him  of  the  latter's  affection.*^  In  one  place  she  speaks  of 
Flaubert's  having  called  Guy  his  "fils  adoptif " ;  in  another  she  says, 
"C'est  Flaubert  qui  voulut  en  faire  un  romancier."*^  The  likeness  to 
the  uncle,  Alfred  Le  Poittevin,  is  referred  to  by  her,^^  as  well  as  by 
Flaubert's  mother  in  a  short  note  preceding  the  selections  from  Mau- 
passant's correspondence  in  the  volume  entitled  Boule  de  Suif}^  In 
the  same  volume  are  included  some  letters  of  Maupassant's  to 
Flaubert,''^  in  which  he  generally  addresses  the  latter  as  "mon  cher 
maitre"  and  speaks  of  missing  their  "causeries  de  chaque  semaine."*' 
He  asks  for  advice  or  gives  information  regarding  what  he  is  writing 
and  recounts  the  events  of  his  official  life,  his  efforts  to  obtain  a  place 
on  the  journals,  the  happenings  about  him,  news  of  mutual  friends. 
In  the  other  letters  of  Maupassant — letters  to  his  mother  and  his 
friends — there  are  various  short  personal  references  to  Flaubert.*^ 
The  last  instance  of  this  dates  from  a  time  after  the  latter's  death 
and  reads  as  follows : 

Je  ne  saurais  vous  dire  combien  je  pense  a  Flaubert,  il  me  hante  et  me 
poursuit.  Sa  pensee  me  revient  sans  cesse,  j'entends  sa  voix,  je  retrouve 
ses  gestes,  je  le  vois  a  tout  moment  debout  devant  moi  avec  sa  grande  robe 
brune,  et  ses  bras  leves  en  parlant.  C'est  comme  une  solitude  qui  s'est 
faite  autour  de  moi,  le  commencement  des  horribles  separations  qui  se 
continueront  maintenant  d'annee  en  annee,  emportant  tous  les  gens  qu'on 
aime,  ou  qui  sont  nos  souvenirs,  avec  qui  nous  pouvions  le  mieux  causer 
des  choses  intimes.*^ 

*o  Flaubert,  Theatre,  p.  515.  *i  D.  V.,  pp.  ix-xxiii. 

*2  D.  v.,  p.  xxi ;  Maynial,  op.  cit.,  p.  44 ;  cf .  above,  p.  5. 
*3  D.  v.,  pp.  xi,  xvi.  *^  Ibid.,  pp.  xcv-cxxiv. 

^*B.d.S.:  Corr.,  p.  xciv.  *^  Ibid.,  pp.  xcv-cxiii,  etc. 

*'^  For  example,  B.d.S.:  Corr.,  pp.  cxxxv,  cxli,  cxliii-iv. 
^^B.d.S.:  Corr.,  pp.  cxliii-iv. 


8  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

We  see  in  this  passage  how  the  very  memory  of  Flaubert  seems 
to  evoke  the  keen  mental  vision  of  individual  characteristics  which 
the  master  advocated,*®  as  well  as  to  call  forth  the  sense  of  isolation 
and  of  the  imminence  of  death  which  constantly  overshadowed  Mau- 
passant's outlook  on  life.^"  It  will  be  observed  that  the  closing  words 
suggest  a  relationship  of  mental  sympathy. 

Also  to  be  noted,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  one  author's  influ- 
ence on  the  other,  are  certain  additional  direct  statements  of  Mau- 
passant's. After  the  letter-preface  to  the  verses  there  appeared,  in 
the  third  edition  of  the  volume,  a  few  lines  on  Flaubert's  death,  which 
had  occurred  very  shortly  before.  In  them  Maupassant  pays  the 
following  tribute  to  his  friend : 

Depuis  que  ce  livre  a  paru  (il  y  a  un  mois  a  peine)  le  merveilleux 
ecrivain  a  qui  il  etait  dedie  est  mort,  Gustave  Flaubert  est  mort. 

Je  ne  veux  point  ici  parler  de  cet  homme  de  genie,  que  f  admire  avec 
passion,  et  dont  je  dirai  plus  tard  la  vie  quotidienne,  et  la  pensee  familiere, 
et  le  coeur  exquis,  et  I'admirahle  grandeur. 

Mais,  en  tete  de  la  nouvelle  edition  de  ce  volume  «dont  la  dedicace 
Ta  fait  pleurer,»  m'ecrivait-il,  car  il  m'aima  aussi,  je  veux  reproduire 
la  superhe  lettre  qu'il  m'adressa  pour  defendre  un  de  mes  poemes :  Au  bord 
de  I'eau*^^  contre  le  parquet  d'Etampes  qui  m'attaquait. 

Je  fais  cela  comme  un  supreme  hommage  a  ce  mort,  qui  a  emporte 
assurement  la  plus  vive  tendresse  que  j'aurai  pour  un  homme,  la  plus 
grande  admiration  que  je  vouerai  a  un  ecrivain,  la  veneration  la  plus 
absolue  que  m'inspirera  jamais  un  etre  quel  qu'il  soit. 

These  paragraphs  have  been  quoted  because  they  show,  especially 
in  the  expressions  italicized,  the  grateful  affection  and  the  extrava- 
gant admiration  with  which  Maupassant  regarded  Flaubert — an 
affection  and  admiration  which  would  lead  naturally  to  the  influ- 
encing of  the  one  writer  by  the  other,  even  without  the  close  connec- 
tion of  master  and  disciple  which  has  been  noted  as  existing  between 
them. 

To  the  intimacy  of  this  relationship  Maupassant  himself  bears 
witness  in  his  article  on  "Le  Roman,"  printed  at  the  beginning  of  the 
volume  entitled  Pierre  et  Jean.  He  tells  how  he  ventured  to  submit 
some  of  his  attempts  to  Flaubert ;  how  the  latter  kindly  read  them 

*»  See  below,  pp.  25-26.  ^^  See  below,  p.  IS- 

81  cf .  on  this  point  Maynial,  op.  cit.,  pp.  84-85,  89-96.  There  is  some  con- 
fusion in  the  references  to  the  poem. 


PERSONAL  RELATIONSHIP  9 

and  encouraged  him  to  hope  that  time  and  work  would  reveal  the 
possession  of  talent  by  their  author.  For  seven  years  thereafter  the 
master  labored  with  the  disciple.  The  story  is  told  in  Maupassant's 
own  words : 

Pendant  sept  ans  je  fis  des  vers,  je  fis  des  contes,  je  fis  des  nouvelles, 
je  fis  meme  un  drame  detestable.  II  n'en  est  rien  reste.  Le  maitre  lisait 
tout,  puis  le  dimanche  suivant,  en  dejeunant,  developpait  ses  critiques 
et  enfongait  en  moi,  peu  a  peu,  deux  ou  trois  principes  qui  sont  le  resume 
de  ses  longs  et  patients  enseignements.  «Si  on  a  une  originalite.  disait-il, 
il  f aut  avant  tout  la  degager ;  si  on  n'en  a  pas,  il  f aut  en  acquerir  une.»^2 

We  should  take  account  of  Maupassant's  statement  here  that  none 
of  all  the  attempts  of  his  seven  years'  apprenticeship  was  allowed  to 
survive.  We  possess,  therefore,  in  all  probability,  no  further  speci- 
mens than  those  already  mentioned^^  of  the  work  done  by  him  under 
the  eye  of  the  master.  We  must  seek  for  the  literary  influence  then 
in  considerable  measure,  as  Maupassant's  remarks  in  the  foregoing 
passage  suggest,  in  the  general  application  by  the  latter,  throughout 
his  subsequent  work,  of  the  principles  inculcated  by  the  former. 
What  these  are  is  indicated  in  the  succeeding  well-known  paragraphs 
of  the  article  from  which  quotation  has  already  been  made.^*  They 
will  be  discussed  in  a  subsequent  chapter  of  this  thesis. ^° 

In  1885  Maupassant  wrote  an  article  on  Flaubert  which  served  as 
a  preface  to  the  Quaritin  edition  of  Bouvard  et  Pecuchet.  This  has 
been  inserted  in  Maupassant's  Oeuvres  Posthumes,  II.  Some  account 
will  be  given  of  it  in  a  subsequent  section  of  this  thesis.^*  Maupas- 
sant's first  published  volume,  containing  his  verses,  was  dedicated 
"a  Gustave  Flaubert,  a  I'illustre  et  paternel  ami  que  j'aime  de  toute 
ma  tendresse,  a  I'irreprochable  maitre  que  j 'admire  avant  tous."  This 
is  the  dedication  which  Maupassant  says  made  Flaubert  weep.'^ 
Again,  in  his  reply  to  M.  Sarcey,  Maupassant  quotes  Flaubert  and 
others  as  being  "justement  irrites  de  la  pretention  des  critiques 
d'imposer  un  genre  aux  romanciers."^^  Finally,  other  references  to 
his  memories  of  Flaubert,  not  particularized  now  because  not  con- 
sap.^./.;    4^L.R>,  p.  xxiii. 

58  See  above,  p.  8.  ^^  gge  below,  pp.  21  ff. 

^^P.eJ.:    «L.i?.»,  pp.  xxiii-xxv.  ^7  See  above. 

55  See  below,  pp.  21-37.  ^^Mlle.F,;  Appendix,  p.  275. 


lO  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

cemed  with  literary  theory,  are  to  be  found  here  and  there  in  his 
works.*^ 

In  this  chapter  we  have  studied  then  the  direct  personal  relation- 
ship between  Gustave  Flaubert  and  Guy  de  Maupassant.  We  have 
seen  that  it  began  through  the  general  friendship  of  the  Flaubert  and 
Le  Poittevin  families,  strengthened  by  the  comradeship  of  Flaubert 
and  Alfred  Le  Poittevin.  The  influence  of  the  latter  was  still  felt 
when  Flaubert  came  to  know  Guy  de  Maupassant,  the  nephew,  to 
whom  he  was  attracted  at  first  partly  by  his  remembrance  of  the 
uncle.  There  soon  grew  up,  however,  between  the  older  and  the 
younger  man  a  very  strong  mutual  affection  which  led  in  time  to  the 
establishment  of  the  master  and  pupil  relationship.  This  affection 
was  reinforced  in  the  case  of  Maupassant  by  an  admiration  which  led 
him  to  submit  to  a  most  rigorous  censorship  of  his  literary  efforts,  and 
which  opened  the  way  for  Flaubert  virtually  to  impose  his  own 
theories  on  the  younger  artist. 

59  For  example,  M.  Par.,  p.  264;  L.R.d.M.H.,  pp.  239,  241-44;  AuS.,  pp.  7» 
191,  196-97. 


CHAPTER  II 

DISCUSSION     AND     EXEMPLIFICATION     OF     DEFINITELY 

STATED   THEORIES  REGARDING  LIFE    (WITH 

INTRODUCTION) 

Before  going  on  to  consider  the  theories  of  Flaubert  and  Maupas- 
sant regarding  the  world  in  general  and  literary  matters  in  particular, 
it  will  be  well  to  look  for  a  short  time  at  certain  similarities  in  their 
lives  which  will  have  to  be  taken  into  account  in  tracing  likenesses 
in  their  works.  Both  were  Norman  on  the  mother's  side  and  passed 
their  youth  and  much  of  their  later  life  in  Normandy.  It  was  pos- 
sible thus  for  them  to  obtain  from  personal  observation  that  knowl- 
edge of  Norman  life,  character,  and  landscape  which  they  display. 
They  were  also  acquainted  with  Parisian  life,  although  not  both  to  the 
same  extent,  and  moved  in  Paris  in  the  same  literary  circle. 

Throughout  life  the  two  men  were  confronted  by  circumstances 
which  tended  to  sadden.  Flaubert  spent  his  youth  in  close  proximity 
to  the  sights  and  sounds  of  a  hospital;  Maupassant  early  gained  a 
perception  of  the  unfortunate  relations  existing  between  his  father 
and  mother.  Both  were  unhappy  in  much  of  their  school  life  and 
were  in  later  days  attacked  by  the  law  for  alleged  offences  against 
morality  in  their  works.  Each  passed  through  the  shattering  expe- 
riences of  the  War  of  1870,  Flaubert  as  a  national  guard,^  Maupas- 
sant in  the  fighting  force.  For  a  considerable  portion  of  their 
respective  careers  they  lived  lives  of  solitary  laboriousness.  Robust 
in  early  youth,  they  were  subsequently  assailed  by  maladies  which 
embittered  existence. 

Besides  all  this,  the  tastes  of  the  two  men  were  similar  in  many 
respects.     Each  had  a  liking  for  the  grotesquely  comic.^     Both 

1  Corr.,  IV,  33,  etc.  The  facts  regarding  the  life  of  Flaubert  are  taken 
partly  from  the  Souvenirs  of  Mme.  de  Commanville  prefixed  to  Correspon- 
dance,  I,  and  partly  from  the  introductory  note  to  Madame  B ovary;  those  con« 
cerning  Maupassant  come  from  Maynial.  Other  authorities  are  indicated  where 
necessary. 

2  For  example,  Maxime  du  Camp,  Souvenirs  litthaires,  I,  164-65,  etc. ;  F. 
Brunetiere,  Le  Roman  naturaliste,  pp.  402-3,  etc.  Maynial  notes  this  charac- 
teristic in  Maupassant. 


12  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

showed  an  early  interest  in  literature,  an  especial  fondness  for  Shake- 
speare, and  a  desire  to  try  their  hands  at  many  forms  of  literary 
composition.  They  were  friends  of  Louis  Bouilhet,  coming  under 
his  influence  at  the  formative  period.  They  delighted  in  nature. 
They  had  in  common  a  passion  for  traveling  and  looked  to  the  visiting 
of  foreign  scenes  as  a  means  of  escape  from  irksome  circumstances. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  here  that  in  the  course  of  their  travels  they 
visited  very  much  the  same  places — ^Algeria,  Corsica,  Sicily,  Italy, 
Southern  France,  Switzerland,  Brittany — so  that  we  frequently  find 
the  same  itinerary  described  by  both.^ 

A  very  curious  resemblance  is  the  reciprocal  attraction  which  they 
describe  themselves  as  possessing  toward  men  and  women  deprived 
of  reason.*  In  the  case  of  Maupassant  we  naturally  connect  this  with 
his  subsequent  madness ;  in  that  of  Flaubert  it  appears  to  be  related 
to  his  morbid  fondness  for  the  abnormal  and  the  grotesque. 

In  the  light  of  all  these  similarities  it  would  be  strange  if  there 
were  not  coincidences  in  the  works  of  the  two,  even  without  the  lit- 
erary friendship  which  we  have  studied  in  the  previous  chapter.  We 
are  met  here  by  the  difficulty  of  distinguishing  the  likenesses  in  their 
writings  due  to  the  influence  of  the  one  man  upon  the  other  from 
those  which  arise  out  of  the  general  thought  and  practice  of  the  epoch 
and  school  to  which  both  belong.  Resemblances  then,  to  be  of  value 
in  determining  the  extent  of  the  relationship  between  the  two  authors, 
must  be  specific,  showing  agreement  in  form,  or  in  content,  or  in 
\  both.  In  the  succeeding  pages  of  this  thesis  special  attention  will  be 
paid  to  the  more  concrete  instances  of  similarity. 

Regarding  the  likenesses  between  the  two  authors  the  critics  have 
comparatively  little  to  say.  The  younger  man  is  hailed  on  all  sides 
as  the  disciple  of  the  older ;  but  the  resemblance  is  not  analyzed,  or  is 
analyzed  only  in  the  scantiest  way.  It  is  generally  agreed  that  such 
'  influence  as  exists  is  observable  chiefly  in  Maupassant's  earlier  work, 
before  he  had  quite  evolved  his  own  method.  Examples  of  the  kind 
of  comparison  of  the  two  to  be  discovered  in  criticism  are  as  follows. 
Brunetiere,  in  speaking  of  some  earlier  works  of  Maupassant's,  says, 
"There  is  too  much  Flaubert  in  him."^    Lemaitre  finds  that  the  older 

3  See  below,  p.  84. 

*For  example,  N.d.V.,  I,  50;  Corr.,  I,  164;  L.M.g.:  Madame  Hermet,  pp. 
253-55. 

^  Brunetiere,  Le  Roman  naturaliste,  p.  342. 


THEORIES  REGARDING  LIFE  13 

man  has  influenced  the  younger  in  irony  of  general  treatment  and  in 
precision  of  form.®  Again  we  have  indication  of  certain  books  of 
Maupassant's  or  scenes  therein  which  derive  more  or  less  directly 
from  certain  books  or  scenes  of  Flaubert's,  as,  for  example,  Une  Vie 
from  Madame  Bovary,  Bel-Ami  from  UEducation  sentimentale, 
Olivier  Bertin's  excursion  to  the  Champs-Elysees  from  that  of 
Frederic  Moreau  to  the  same  place,^  and  so  on.  Apart  from  such 
suggestions  one  can  gain  on  the  subject  in  hand  little  direct  help 
from  the  critics. 

There  remains  yet  another  point  to  be  touched  upon  before  pro- 
ceeding to  the  discussion  of  similar  theories.  One  conclusion  regard- 
ing Guy  de  Maupassant  which  is  of  importance  in  connection  with  the 
question  of  influence — that  he  was  not  eminently  inventive — 
forces  itself  upon  us  as  we  peruse  his  works.  Over  and  over  again 
we  find  repeated  the  same  subjects,  the  same  situations,  the  same 
characters,  the  same  ideas,  even  the  same  wording.*  In  order  to 
recognize  the  truth  of  this  assertion  one  has  only  to  remember,  for 
instance,  how  large  a  proportion  of  his  work  deals  with  illicit  passion, 
with  the  circumstances  of  its  indulgence,  and  with  the  men  or  women 
who  are  possessed  by  it.  A  constantly  recurring  idea  is  that  of  the 
uselessn^ss  of  combating  the  fatality  which  binds  humanity.®  A  good 
example  of  similarity  in  wording  is  the  passage  describing  a  rustic 
ball,  which  is  used  almost  word  for  word  in  Ma  Femme  and  in  Une 
Vie}^  Much  of  this  repetition  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
Maupassant  consciously  circumscribed  his  range.^^  It  is  also  hardly 
surprising  that  a  man  who  produced  as  much  as  he  within  the  short 
space  of  eleven  years,^^  and  who,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  must  often 
have  written  hastily,^^  should  sometimes  return  upon  himself.  We 
have  indication  of  lack  of  inventiveness  in  his  letters,  where  we  find 
him  asking  that  subjects  be  suggested  to  him.^*    He  also,  according 

8  Lemaitre,  Les  Contemporains,  V,  1-12. 

"^  E.-L.  Ferrere,  L'Esthetique  de  Gustave  Flaubert,  pp.  254-55 ;  Brunetiere, 
Le  Rom.  Nat.,  pp.  342-43, 

®  Cf.  Maynial,  La  Composition  dans  les  romans  de  Maupassant,  R.B.,  XX 
(1903),  562-65,  604-8. 

»  For  example,  U.V.,  p.  323;  L.p.R.,  p.  46;  S.VE.,  pp.  40-44;  F.c.l.m.,  pp.  340- 
41 ;  N.C.,  pp.  224-25 ;  etc. 

^^L.M.T.,  pp.  267-68;  U.V.,  pp.  79-80.  11 P.^./.;    <i-L.R.-»,  pp.  xi-xii. 

12  The  years  1880-90.    See  Maynial,  La  Vie  et  Voeuvre  de  Maupassant,  p.  119. 

^^Ihid.,  pp.  120-21,  122-23.  ^^B.d.S.:  Corr.,  p.  cxxxi. 


14  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

to  the  testimony  of  Doumic,"  drew  extensively  upon  his  own  expe- 
rience to  supply  him  with  material  for  writing.  Here  then,  in  the 
acceptance  of  suggestions  afterwards  to  be  worked  out  in  his  own 
way,  we  see  possibilities  for  influence  upon  him.  If  any  such  sugges- 
tions can  be  traced  back  to  Flaubert  they  will  probably  furnish  evi- 
dences of  relationship  between  the  two.^®  We  must  not  forget,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  Flaubert,  according  to  his  disciple,  warned  the  latter 
against  imitation,  and  that  Maupassant  passed  on  the  warning. ^^ 
Similarities  will,  therefore,  probably  result  rather  from  the  uncon- 
scious reproduction  of  unforgettable  memories  than  from  conscious 
copying.^®  Their  occurrence  will  be  rendered  all  the  more  likely  by 
the  fact  that  both  men  are  engaged  with  subjects  of  somewhat  similar 
nature,  and  that  the  younger  has  an  unbounded  admiration  for  the 
older.i^ 

The  two  authors  make  definite  statements  regarding  similar 
theories,  beliefs,  and  likes  or  dislikes.  In  the  case  of  Flaubert  these 
are  contained  for  the  most  part  in  his  letters,  with  occasional  refer- 
ences in  his  other  writings.  With  Maupassant  such  personal  expres- 
sions are  found  distributed  more  or  less  throughout  his  works. 
A  general  outline  will  now  be  given  of  the  theories  held  in  common  by 
the  two,  in  so  far  as  we  can  gain  a  knowledge  of  these  from  their 
own  utterances.  Sometimes  we  have,  in  addition  to  the  individual 
statements  of  each,  Maupassant's  report  of  Flaubert's  doctrine.  Any 
new  point  thus  brought  out  will  be  noted.  We  shall  also  endeavor  to 
observe  as  we  go  along  how  far  they  carry  out  in  their  works  the 
theories  which  we  may,  from  definite  pronouncement,  discover  them 
to  hold  in  common. 

''  To  both  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  present  reality  is  odious,^^ 
the  world  is  more  or  less  of  an  illusion,^^  and  all  things  are  subject 
to  an  inexorable  fatality.^^    It  is  the  sordid,  the  commonplace,  the  dis- 

^^"L'Oeuvre  de  Guy  de  Maupassant,"  R.D.M.   (November  i,  1893),  pp. 
187  ff. 

16  For  example,  see  below,  pp.  63-65,  87,  90,  97,  loo-ioi,  102-103. 
^"^  P.eJ.:     ^L.R.T^,  pp.  xxiii-xxiv;  B.d.S.:    Corr.,  pp.  clii-cliii. 
18  Cf.  Ferrere,  I'EstheHique  de  Gustave  Flaubert,  p.  261. 
18  See  above,  pp.  8,  9. 

20  For  example,  Corr.,  II,  140;  III,  85,  181-82,  232-33;  IV,  243;  V.  382. 

21  For  example,  Corr.,  IV,  336;  B.d.S.:  Corr.,  p.  cxlv;  S.VE.,  p.  45. 

22  For  example,  Corr.,  V,  512;  B.d.S.:  Corr.,  p.  cvi;  cf.  ibid.,  pp.  ex,  cxii. 


THEORIES  REGARDING  LIFE  15 

agreeable,  or  the  horrible,  that  is  generally  represented  by  them.  Mis- 
ery or  degradation  is  the  almost  universal  lot  of  their  personages. 
Should  happiness  seem  at  times  to  flit  within  the  grasp  of  some  excep- 
tionally fortunate  man  or  woman,  it  is  only  that  disenchantment  and 
sadness  all  the  deeper  may  result.  The  one  great  word  which  Charles 
Bovary  is  represented  as  uttering — "c'est  la  f  aute  de  la  f atalite  !"^^ — 
might  be  taken  as  the  motto  for  their  picture  of  life.  Unhappy  beings 
are  trampled  by  the  inexorable  march  of  events,  or  are  made  to  suffer 
for  giving  way  to  passions  to  which  they  can  no  more  help  yielding 
than  they  can  avoid  being  born.  Death,  with  its  repulsive  physical 
concomitants,  is  for  man  the  end  of  all  things ;  the  idea  of  immortality 
is  but  an  invention  of  the  presumptuous  imagination.^*  The  general 
effect  of  such  a  presentation  is  painful ;  there  results  from  it  for  both 
writers  a  keen  sense  of  sadness  and  of  individual  isolation.^^  Escape 
from  actuality  is  sought  through  excursions,  either  in  person  or  in 
thought,  to  far-off  countries  and  times  which  possess  the  romantic 
glamor  of  distant  enchantment.^*  Thus  their  personages — Emma 
Bovary,  Rosanette,  Pierre  Roland,  Andre  MarioUe,  and  others — long 
to  fly  from  present  reality  to  future  possibility.^^  General  resem- 
blance in  "atmosphere"  of  gloom  between  the  works  of  Flaubert  and 
those  of  Maupassant  must  not,  however,  be  considered  as  proving  in 
itself  the  influence  of  one  upon  the  other,  as  it  may  derive  equally 
well  from  the  spirit  of  the  materialistic  epoch  in  which  both  lived. 
The  next  point  in  the  argument  for  relationship  is  perhaps  more 
important,  because  more  distinctive,  than  a  pessimistic  outlook  upon 
life.  It  is  the  insistence  of  both  men  on  the  universal  "betise"  of 
humanity — a  "betise"  pervading  all  ranks,  from  the  superstitious  and 
stolid  peasants  to  the  inert  and  ineffective  "Anciens"  of  Carthage,  or 
the  inane  representatives  of  modern  French  society  encountered  by 

23  M.B.,  p.  480. 

2*  For  example,  O.dJ.,  I,  407 ;  P.lC.e.p.lG.,  pp.  175-76 ;  Corr.,  I,  168,  194, 
232,  299;  IV,  26-28;  B.dS.:  Corr.,  p.  cxliv;  L.p.R.,  p.  7;  L.V.E.,  pp.  69-75- 

25  For  example,  Corr.,  IV,  14,  152,  357;  V,  275;  B.d.S.:  Corr.,  pp.  cxxx, 
cxlv ;  S.l'E.,  pp.  128-29. 

29  For  example,  Corr.,  Ill,  85,  181-82,  203,  232-33;  IV,  29,  243;  V,  382;  S.VE., 
pp.  92  if. 

^'^ M.B.,  pp.  271-72,  etc. ;  L'Ed.S.,  p.  459.  etc.;  P.e.J.,  p.  204;  N.C.,  pp.  223-24, 
etc. 


l6  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Maupassant  in  Southern  France.^*  Its  special  exponent  is  the  respec- 
table "bourgeois,"  who  stands  rather  for  an  attitude  of  narrow  com- 
placency or  dogmatism  than  for  any  particular  class — Homais,  with 
his  pompous  and  ridiculous  speeches;  M.  Patissot,  with  his  mania 
for  exercise;  the  government  functionary,  who  plays  his  part  in 
guiding  "the  chariot  of  state  through  the  incessant  perils  of  a  stormy 
sea"  f^  the  "honnetes  f emmes,"  who  despise  their  unfortunate  sisters 
while  being  not  one  whit  better  than  they.^^  One  particular  form  of 
"betise"  exhibited  by  this  "bourgeois"  is  that  of  seeking  for  decora- 
tions. Examples  are  furnished  by  Homais  in  Madame  Bovary  and 
M.  Sacrement  in  Maupassant's  nouvelle  entitled  Decore,^^  Another 
manifestation  of  stupidity  is  subservience  to  habit.  Both  authors 
hated  monotony  and  the  life  of  habit  and  strove  in  their  restlessness 
to  escape  from  it,  especially,  as  we  have  seen,  by  traveling.^^  This 
hatred  they  express  in  their  works.  The  stupid  Charles  is  a  creature 
of  habit,  as  are  the  dull  employees  of  UHeritageP  Emma  and 
Jeanne  owe  part,  at  least,  of  their  unhappiness  to  the  monotonous 
tenor  of  their  daily  existence.  The  unvarying  life  of  the  country,  of 
the  provincial  town,  of  the  bureaucratic  or  industrial  community  in 
Paris,  is  constantly  portrayed,  together  with  the  deteriorating  or 
exasperating  effects  of  that  life.^*  Scornful  hatred  of  the  "bourgeois" 
and  of  man  in  general  becomes  with  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  an 
obsession,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  following  quotations: 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

Uinsupportahilite    de    la    sottise  II  flotte  dans  Paris  tant  de  hetises 

humaine  est  devenue  ches  moi  une  venues  de  tous  les  coins  du  monde, 

maladie,    et    le    mot    est    faible.  qu'on  en   eprouve   comme   un  ac- 

Presque  tous  les  humains  ont  le  don  cahlement  [B.d.S.:  Corr.,  p.  cviii]. 

28  For  example,  P.lC.e.p.l.G.,  p.  io8;  M.B.,  p.  40;  M.  Par.:  Le  Bapteme,  pp. 
135-44;  Sal.,  p.  120,  etc. ;  S.l'E.,  pp.  24  flf. 

29  M.B.,  p.  197. 

30 For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  1 10-12,  180,  etc.;  O.P.,  II:  Les  Dimanches  d'un 
bourgeois  de  Paris,  pp.  7,  11-14,  etc. ;  M.B.,  pp.  197  ff. ;  M.Har.:  L'Hiritage,  pp. 
41-163 ;  M.B.,  pp.  422-23 ;  B.d.S.,  pp.  60-77. 

31  M.B.,  pp.  477-78,  481 ;  L.S.R.,  pp.  243-53.  32  gge  above,  p.  12. 

38  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  61 ;  M.Har.,  pp.  41-163. 

8* For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  31,  62,  etc.;  T.C.:  U.C.S.,  pp.  S-6,  etc.;  B.e.P.,  p. 
13;  L.M.T.:  En  Famille,  pp.  139-41;  L.S.R.:  Suicides,  pp.  232-33;  Yvette: 
Promenade,  pp.  201-4;  C  dJ.e.d.l.N.:  Le  Pere,  p.  38;  M.Par.,  pp.  49  ff. ;  L'LB.: 
L'Bpreuve,  pp.  137-44. 


THEORIES  REGARDING  LIFE  17 

de  m'exasperer,  et  je  ne  respire  Je  vois  des  choses,  farces,  farces, 
librement  que  dans  le  desert  {^Corr.,  farces,  et  d'autres  qui  sont  tristes, 
IV,  411]. 25  tristes,  tristes;  en  somme,  tout  le 

monde  est  bete,  bete,  bete,  ici  comme 
ailleurs  [B.dS.:  Corr.,  p.  cxxii]. 

Such  an  attitude  of  exasperation  as  that  evidenced  by  the  fore- 
going paragraphs  seems  to  us  excessive.  It  explains,  however,  the 
cynical  tone  which  characterizes  the  work  of  the  two  men.  How  far, 
^we  are  led  to  ask,  was  this  exasperation  and  the  resulting  cynicism 
an  inheritance  from  the  older  man  in  the  case  of  the  younger,  and 
how  far  was  it  an  inherent  idiosyncrasy?  In  the  first  of  the  fore- 
going quotations  from  Maupassant  and  in  other  passages  of  his  letters 
to  Flaubert^^  there  is  a  suggestion  that  the  expressions  are  dictated 
by  the  fact  that  the  disciple  is  writing  to  the  master.  The  second 
paragraph  from  the  younger  man  produces,  however,  a  greater  im- 
pression of  sincerity  and  can  be  supported  by  further  evidence  in  the 
same  direction.  We  may  at  least  say  this,  that,  if  Maupassant  had  a 
natural  bent  toward  scorn  of  humanity,  as  seems  unquestionable,  it 
was  certainly  not  diminished  through  his  intercourse  with  Flaubert. 
Human  "betise"  was  specially  emphasized  by  the  latter,  as  his  disciple 
tells  us,  in  Bouvard  et  Pecuchet.^'^  Both  men  hold  that  the  only  hope 
for  anyone  who  would  maintainhis  individuality  is  to  keep  himself 
entirely  separate  from  ordinary  humanity.^^  Among  the  supreme" 
follies  of  the  day,  thinks  eacE7~is  democratic  government,  with  all  its 
implications.^^  Modern  tyranny  is  "bete,"  to  be  sure,  but  some  form 
of  aristocracy  is  at  any  rate  preferable  to  democracy.*"  In  modern 
life  "grace"  or  pardon  is  substituted  for  justice,  Flaubert  laying  the 
blame  for  this  on  Christianity ,"Maupassant  on  romanticism.*^  War 
is  an  evidence^  of  the  ineradicable  brutality  and  unreason  of  the 

23  Cf .  also  on  "betise"  and  scorn  of  humanity,  Corr.,  I,  43 ;  II,  2,  43,  44,  69, 
70,  103,  126,  179,  184-85,  196,  222-23,  282,  299,  308,  326,  445;  III,  25,  112,  262;  IV, 
203,  367,  422 ;  V,  274 ;  etc. 

26  For  example,  B,dS.:  Corr.,  pp.  xcix,  ciii,  cxiv,  etc. 

27  O.P.,  II;  £tude  sur  Gustave  Flaubert,  pp.  104,  106  ff.,  137. 

28  Corr.,  IV,  80;  B.d.S.:   Corr.,  pp.  cl-cli;  cf.  S.l'E.,  pp.  iio-ii. 

29  Corr.,  IV,  34,  60;  B.d.S.:   Corr.,  p.  civ. 

*o  Corr.,  I,  196;  IV,  61 ;  L.V.E.,  pp.  2-3,  6-9,  36-39,  etc. 

*i  Corr.,  IV,  80;  cf.  IV,  60;  B.d.S.:  Les  Soirees  de  Midau,  p.  82. 


i8  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

human  race.*^  The  barbarities  of  warfare  are  exhibited  both 
through  the  cruelties  practised  by  Carthaginians  and  mercenaries  in 
Salammbo,  and  through  the  atrocities  perpetrated  by  the  Prussians 
and  wreaked  on  them  by  way  of  vengeance  in  the  stories  of 
Maupassant.*^ 

To  the  two  men  religion,  which  each  admits  to  be  universally  pres- 
ent in  one  form  or  another,**  furnishes  but  additional  illustrations  of 
betise  and  hate  fulness.  What  more  stupid  than  man's  affirmations 
and  negations  regarding  the  supernatural?*"  What  more  detesta- 
ble than  existing  ecclesiasticism  ?*^  In  its  essence  religion  is  either 
a  superstition,  a  habit,  or  a  romantic  extravagance,  and  is  con- 
nected not  infrequently  with  sensual  indulgence.  The  peasant  is  the 
principal  exponent  of  superstition  in  both  writers,  examples  being 
found  wherever  religion  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  peasant  life. 
Felicite  confusing  her  parrot  with  the  Holy  Spirit*^  and  the  "fille  de 
ferme"  attributing  superhuman  powers  of  insight  to  her  cure*^  are 
typical  of  their  class.  Religion  as  a  habit  is  exhibited  in  the  taking 
for  granted  by  all  ranks  of  the  religious  ceremonies  attendant  on  the 
different  stages  of  life.  Even  by  the  indifferent  or  the  hostile  it  is 
considered  but  natural  that  the  Church  should  preside  over  the  initial 
stages  of  life,  over  marriage  and  death,  and  should  dignify  with  her 
blessing  the  ordinary  occupations  of  man  on  land  or  sea.*^  Religion 
as  romantic  extravagance  is  illustrated  in  the  cases  of  Emma  Bovary 
and  of  Jeanne  in  Une  Vie,  both  of  whom  experience  violent  parox- 
ysms of  religious  fervor  produced  by  circumstances  and  fostered  by 
romantic  sentiments."®  Emma  serves  further  as  an  example  of  the 
connecting  of  religion  with  sensuality,"^  in  which  she  resembles 
Julien,  Jeanne's  husband,  and  similar  characters  of  Maupassant's."^ 

«  Corr.,  IV,  48-49;  S.l'E.,  pp.  Si-59. 

*^ Sal.,  for  example,  pp.  128-35,  etc.;  for  example,  Mile.  F.,  pp.  3-27', 
C.d.l.Bic:  La  Folle,  pp.  37-43- 

^^Corr.,  II,  151,  202,  232;  C.dJ.e.d.lN.:  Le  Gueux,  pp.  178-79. 

45  Corr.,  IV,  351,  385,  etc. ;  S.l'E.,  pp.  39-40. 

*«  Corr.,  IV,  38,  353,  37i,  377;  B.d.S.,  pp.  7,  30,  62;  etc. 

*7  T.C.:  U.C.S.,  pp.  53-54.        ^»''P=M:3^,:  Histoire  d'une  fille  de  ferme,  p.  66. 

*»For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  9,  37,  125,  464-67;  T.C.:  U.C.S,  pp.  61-64;  B.e.P., 
pp.  297,  314-16;  U.V.,  pp.  58-61,  75-76,  196;  B.-A.,  pp.  273  ff.,  561-73. 

50  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  49,  52,  295-98;  U.V.,  pp.  263,  265-66. 

51  M.B.,  pp.  298,  446.  52  uy^^  p_  266;  cf.  also  B.-A.,  pp.  551-52,  etc. 


THEORIES  REGARDING  LIFE  19 

Priests  and  other  representatives  of  the  church  are  made  by  each 
writer  stupid,  commonplace,  or  hateful.^^  Attacks  on  ordinary  reU- 
gious  beHefs  and  statements  of  "philosophical"  religion  are  put  into 
the  mouths  of  Homais,  of  "le  baron,"  of  Moiron,  of  Renardet,  and  of 
many  other  characters  in  the  works  of  both  men.^* 

Neither  author  holds  any  very  high  conception  of  womankind. 
Each  speaks  of  woman  as  incomprehensible,  unreasonable,  perfid- 
ious.^®   They  agree  that  there  is  little  variety  in  feminine  character.^^f 
Maupassant  says  that  Flaubert  was  disdainful  of  women,  judging!* 
them  severely  from  a  distance,  but  exhibiting  a  certain  tendernes^j 
toward  them  when  brought  into  closer  relationship.®^     The  olderl 
man  himself  expresses  a  somewhat  similar  thought  where  he  speaks  \ 
of  the  "souverain  mepris"  with  which  women  are  regarded  essen- 
tially, while  being  treated  outwardly  with  deference.®^    As  one  would 
expect,  the  usual  presentation  of  women,  love,  and  marriage  given 
by  the  two  writers  is  cynical,  with  practical  elimination  of  the  ideal. 
If,  by  chance,  we  find  a  good  woman  like  Mme  Arnoux  or  Jeanne,®^ 
she  is  almost  certain  to  be  either  commonplace  or  stupid.    Occasion- 
ally, indeed,  we  have  glimpses,  if  not  of  the  ideal,  at  least  of  a  less 
sordid  and  unpleasing  conception.    Examples  are  the  childish  devo- 
tion of  Justin  to  Emma  in  Madame  Bovary,^^  the  faithfulness  of  such 
simple  creatures  as  Felicite  in  Un  Coeur  simple  or  Rosalie  in  Une 
Vie,^^  and  the  constant  affection  of  the  woman  in  Corsica  who  had 
given  up  everything  for  the  man  she  loved  and  expressed  herself  as 
perfectly  satisfied  after  fifty  years  of  the  hard  life  to  which  she  had 

53  For  example,  cf.  L'abbe  Bournisien  in  M.B.,  pp.  155-59,  etc. ;  I'abbe  Picot 
and  l'abbe  Tolbiac  in  U.V.,  pp.  177,  182,  234,  263-64,  etc. ;  the  "bonnes  soeurs"  of 
B.dS.,  pp.  62-64,  73,  74,  76. 

54  For  example,  M.  B.,  pp.  106-7,  454-55,  etc.;  B.e.P.,  pp.  318  ff.;  U.V.,  p. 
267;  C.d.L.:  Moiron,  pp.  201-3;  L.p.R.,  pp.  49-50;  L'l.B.,  pp.  25  ff. 

55  For  example,  P.l.C.e.p.l.G.,  p.  299;  Corr.,  Ill,  334;  IV,  13;  II,  129-30; 
I,  209;  II,  6;  C.dJ.e.d.lN.,  p.  25;  C.d.L.,  p.  216;  M.Par.  pp.  44,  45-46; 
L.R.d.M.H.,  p.  80;  M.Par.,  p.  40;  C.d.L.,  p.  93;  Mile.  F.,  p.  73;  etc. 

56  Corr.,  IV,  385;  Mile  F.:  Reponse  a  M.F.S.,  pp.  278-79;  cf.  C.d.J.e.d.l.N.: 
La  Parure,  pp.  59-60. 

57  O.P.,  II,  91,  144. 

58  Corr.,  II,  122. 

^^M.B.,  for  example,  pp.  299,  469. 

«i  For  example,  U.C.S.,  p.  42;  U.V.,  pp.  318-23. 


20  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

devoted  herself.®^    Such  presentations  are,  however,  the  exception; 
the  general  picture  is  pessimistic  in  the  extreme. 

An  idea  mentioned  by  the  two  men — in  the  case  of  Maupassant 
apparently,  from  the  reference,  as  a  reflection  from  Flaubert — is  that 
of  the  hatred  of  literature  entertained  by  governments,®^  an  echo  of 
the  romantic  doctrine  of  the  literary  man's  martryrdom,  expressed, 
for  instance,  by  De  Vigny.  Suffering  for  the  sake  of  art  confers,  of 
course,  a  certain  distinction,  and  raises  those  who  endure  it  far  above 
such  banalities  as  official  decorations,  for  which  both  men,  as  we 
should  expect,  feel  contempt.®* 

In  striking  contrast  with  their  hatred  of  man  is  the  very  definite 
love  they  cherish  for  external  nature.     This  is  thus  expressed  by 
Flaubert  in  writing  to  Alfred  Le  Poittevin:     "Tu  me  dis  que  tu 
deviens  de  plus  en  plus  amoureux  de  la  nature,  moi,  j'en  deviens 
eff rene.    Je  regarde  quelquefois  les  animaux  et  meme  les  arbres  avec 
une  tendresse  qui  va  jusqu'a  la  sympathie;  j'eprouve  presque  des 
sensations  voluptueuses  rien  qu'a  voir,  mais  quand  je  vois  bien."®'^ 
Similarly  Maupassant  speaks  of  "certaines  minutes  d'amour  avec  la 
Terre,  le  souvenir  d'une  sensation  delicieuse  et  rapide,  comme  de  la 
caresse  d'un  paysage.   . . . "®®    As  one  would  then  expect,  fine  descrip- 
tions of  nature  are  among  the  most  common  and  most  characteristic 
features  of  the  writings  of  both.    Examples  are  universally  present. 
As  we  saw  at  the  beginning  of  the  chapter,  the  environment  of 
Flaubert  and  Maupassant  tended  to  give  them  a  pessimistic  outlook, 
itvhich  expresses  itself  in  their  contempt  for  the  world  and  for  man, 
\  /especially  for  the  "bourgeois."    Government,  religion,  womankind, 
//all  come  under  their  scorn.    In  the  midst  of  the  general  stupidity  the 
\l  literary  man  is  a  martyr  for  his  cause.     On  the  contrary,  love  of 
If  external  nature  furnishes  to  each  the  satisfaction  which  he  does  not 
/   find  in  man. 


I   th 


^^  C.dJ.e.d.l.N.:  Le  Bonheur,  pp.  81-87.  Maupassant  subsequently  spoils 
this  story,  where,  repeating  it  in  Sur  I'Eau,  he  makes  the  woman  commit 
suicide  upon  discovering  the  unfaithfulness  of  her  husband.  Cf.  Mahn's 
remark  on  this  story,  p.  282  of  his  volume  on  Maupassant. 

«3  Corr.,  IV,  421,  430;  V,  412;  B.d.S.:  Corr.,  p.  cxvi. 

«*  Corr.,  IV,  350,  363 ;  B.d.S. :  Corr.,  pp.  cliii-clv. 

<*'  Corr.,  I,  163-64. 

^^M.Par.:  A  Vendre,  p.  95. 


CHAPTER  III 

DISCUSSION     AND     EXEMPLIFICATION     OF     DEFINITELY 

STATED  THEORIES   REGARDING  LITERARY 

PROCEDURE 

In  studying  the  similar  literary  theories  of  Flaubert  and  Maupas- 
sant we  shall  take  account,  as  in  the  treatment  of  their  general  outlook 
upon  life,  not  only  of  what  each  says  regarding  his  own  doctrines, 
but  also  of  what  Maupassant  records  concerning  the  tenets  of 
Flaubert,  as  well  as  of  the  carrying  out  in  practice  of  the  theories 
stated. 

In  the  mind  of  both  writers  if^personality  is  a  fundamental  neces- 
sity in  the  work  of  an  author.^  ^Maupassant  calls  Flaubert's  imper- 
sonality "impassible"  rather  than  impersonal.^  Flaubert  uses,  and 
Maupassant  reports  his  use  of,  the  figure  of  a  mirror  applied  to  the 
artist  representing  truth. 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

Soyons  des  miroirs  grossissants  . . .   I'auteur  . . .   devait    etre    le 

de  la  verite  externe  [Corr.,  II,  394].      miroir  des  faits,  mais  un  miroir  qui 

les  reproduisait  en  leur  dormant  ce 
reflet  inexprimahle,  ce  je  ne  sais 
quoi  de  presque  divin  qui  est  I'art 
iO.P.,  Vol.  II,  E.S.  G.F.,  p.  96]. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  "mirror"  here  is  not  a  mere  reflecting  mir- 
ror but  one  which  transforms  what  it  reflects.  This,  as  it  differen- 
tiates, is  important  for  what  immediately  follows. 

Impersonality,  both  writers  confess,  is  hard  to  maintain.^  The 
exhibition  of  personal  love  or  hate  Flaubert  regards  as  inadmissible, 
but  considers  that  an  author  can  never  have  too  much  "sympathy" — 
by  which  he  seems  to  mean  the  ability  to  interest  himself  in  anything 

'^Corr.,  II,  182,  389,  394;  III,  1 12-13;  IV,  164,  244-45;  Mile.  F.:  Reponse 
a  M.FS.,  p.  274;  P.eJ.:   «L./?.»,  p.  xii. 

2  0  J'.,  II :   £tude  sur  Gustave  Flaubert,  p.  96. 

^Corr.,  II,  1 12-13;  I,  213;  III,  501;  IV,  244-45;  P.eJ.:  ^L.R.»,  pp.  xi-xii, 
xviii,  xix-xx. 


/ 


22  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

and  everything.*  Maupassant  gives  a  clearer  definition  of  imperson- 
ality and  also  a  more  general  statement  regarding  the  appearance  of 
an  author  in  his  work.  He  recognizes  that  such  appearance  is  inev- 
itable, seeing  that  any  man's  view  of  the  world,  if  it  be  original,  must 
be  derived  from  personal  observation  and  reflection.  Thus  also  in 
the  case  of  the  characters  in  a  book.  The  author  can  but  imagine  how 
he  would  feel  and  act  in  their  place,  and  in  picturing  them  he  in  a 
sense  reproduces  himself.  Impersonality  is  then  to  Maupassant  not 
the  absence  of  an  author  from  his  work — that  is  impossible — ^but  the 
artistic  concealment  of  the  author's  inescapable  presence  in  his  work.^ 
Flaubert  had  expressed  the  same  conclusion  when  he  said :  "L'auteur 
dans  son  oeuvre  doit  etre  comme  Dieu  dans  I'univers,  present  partout 
et  visible  nulle  part"  f  but  he  had  not  worked  out  the  argument  as 
Maupassant  has  worked  it  out.  In  actual  practice  both  authors 
adhere  to  impersonality  to  a  certain  extent,  but  only  to  a  certain 
extent.  ^Flaubert  is  on  the  whole  impersonal  in  Madame  Bovary  and 
in  UEducation  sentimentale.  It  is  difficult  there  to  tell  what  his  own 
opinion  is  regarding  the  majority  of  the  personages  and  events. 
When  we  come  to  Bouvard  et  Pecuchet,  however,  the  treatment  is  too 
ironical  to  be  impersonal,  there  is  too  evidently  a  set  purpose  in  the 
constant  ridiculous  inefficiency  of  the  two  "bonshommes."  In  the 
effort  after  impersonality  there  is  also  a  tendency  to  overshoot  the 
mark  and  arrive  at  impassibility,  shown  in  what  strikes  one  as  the 
heartless  recitation  of  the  abnormal  cruelties  in  SalammbdJ  Some- 
times Flaubert  departs  from  impersonality  in  the  other  direction, 
exhibiting  a  decided  sympathy  for  his  characters.  This  is  true  in 
certain  of  his  pictures  of  humble,  usually  peasant  life,  as,  for  example, 
^  in  the  case  of  "le  pere  Roualt,"  of  Justin,  of  the  old  servant  of  the 
'/'Comices"  in  Madame  Bovary,  as  well  as  of  Felicite  in  Un  Coeur 
"^iSimple.^  Maupassant,  who  sees,  as  was  noted,®  the  difficulty  of 
impersonality  more  clearly  than  Flaubert,  also  forsakes  the  imper- 
sonal attitude  more  usually  and  often  more  completely  than  does 

his  master.    Some  of  his  work,  like  Flaubert's,  is  impersonal  on  the 

f 

(      4  Corr.,  Ill,  524.  6  Corr.,  II,  182. 

^P.eJ.:   <lL.R.^,  pp.  xi-xx.  ^  For  example,  pp.  185,  215,  348-50. 

8  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  41-42,  237-238,  461,  A'^2-6z,  2gg,  469,  208-9;  T.C., 
pp.  3-64. 

^  See  above. 


THEORIES  REGARDING  LITERARY  PROCEDURE  23 

whole ;  for  example,  stories  like  Bel-Ami,  La  Parure,  UHeritage,^^ 
and  those  tales  of  peasant  and  fisher  life  which  seem  to  em- 
body the  stolid  acceptance  of  fact  characteristic  of  the  classes  they 
represent/^  Many  stories,  such  as  the  earliest,  Boule  de  Suif, 
written  possibly  with  the  Bouvard  et  Pecuchet  attitude  toward 
humanity  prominently  in  mind,  are,  like  the  similar  efforts  of  Flau- 
bert, too  ironical  to  be  impersonal.  Sometimes  Flaubert's  irony  is 
humorous,^^  as  where  he  makes  people  say  ridiculous  things ;  here 
Maupassant  goes  further  than  Flaubert,  occasionally  eliminating, 
or  almost  eliminating,  the  irony  and  leaving  the  humor  in  the 
ascendant/^  Brutally  impassible  also  Maupassant  can  be  in  his 
depiction  of  horrible  things.  Examples  are  nouvelles  like  Ulvrogne 
and  Une  Vendetta}^  On  the  other  hand  he  possesses  to  no  small 
extent  the  gift  of  exciting  sympathy  by  the  simple  narration  of  the 
facts  of  real  life.^^  This  is  especially  true  in  connection  with  his 
stories  of  ill-treated  animals  and  children,  and  of  those  unfortunates 
whose  crimes  or  distresses,  as  he  pictures  them,  have  apparently  been 
forced  upon  them  by  a  pitiless  society.^^  In  his  later  writings 
Maupassant  tends  more  and  more  to  give  up  the  impersonal  attitude 
and  to  express,  either  directly  or  through  the  mouths  of  his  char- 
acters, his  sympathy  for  various  forms  of  suflfering,^^  or  the  record 
of  his  own  distresses.^®  All  through  their  work  both  authors  do  in 
fact  transgress  the  bounds  of  impersonality  either  by  direct  com- 
ment^^  or  by  putting  into  the  mouths  of  their  characters  the  expres- 

^^C.dJ.e.d.LN.,  pp.  59-74;  M.Har.,  pp.  41-163. 

11  For  example,  L.S.R.:  Le  petit  Put,  pp.  79-89;  C.dJ.e.d.l.N.:  Le  Vieux, 
pp.  91-104;  C.d.l.Bec:   En  Mer,  pp.  129-39. 

12  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  180  (speech  of  Homais). 
18  For  example,  Toine. 

14  C.dJ.e.d.l.N.,  pp.  125-34,  137-45- 

1^  Cf.  Lombroso,  Souvenirs  sur  Maupassant,  p.  162. 

i«  For  example,  M.Har.:  L'Ane,  pp.  189-94;  C.dJ.e.d.l.N.:  Coco,  pp.  150- 
56;  L.M.T.:  Le  Papa  de  Simon,  pp.  119-34;  C.dJ.e.d.l.N.:  Le  Gueux,  pp. 
173-82;  L.M.G.:  Le  Port,  Part  II,  pp.  207-17. 

I'^For  example,  M.-O.,  pp.  323-26;  N.C.,  pp.  200-205,  224-25,  233-37,  etc. 

18  For  example,  S.l'E.,  pp.  77-92. 

19  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  92,  148,  390;  L'Ed.S.,  pp.  47,  261-62,  266,  383, 
407;  P.eJ.,  pp.  59,  178;  B.d.S.,  pp.  10,  30;  U.V.,  pp.  34,  69,  75,  100,  123,  212, 
248,  330;  etc.  In  comparison  with  most  writers  Flaubert  has  very  little  of 
this  intervention  of  the  author  in  person. 


24  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

sion  of  thoughts  which  the  latter  could  not  naturally  have.*®  Mau- 
passant also  frequently  talks  in  the  first  person  where  such  pro- 
cedure is  evidently  not  a  mere  realistic  detail.*^  It  is  further  true, 
as  has  been  pointed  out  by  critics,**  that  both  men  embody  in  their 
works  their  own  lives  and  surroundings,  as  seems  indeed  to  be 
inevitable  when  personal  observation  is  insisted  on  as  the  main 
source  of  information. 

The  two  authors  hold  that  the  great  task  of  the  novelist  is  to 
reproduce  nature  "truthfully."  *^  Maupassant  thinks  that  Flaubert's 
novels  accomplish  this,  for  they  exhibit  "la  vie  meme  apparue."** 
They  agree  also  as  to  the  meaning  here  of  "truthfully."  The  faithful 
representation  of  nature  denotes  not  the  servile  transcription  of 
facts  but  rather  the  "translation"  of  those  facts  in  terms  of  proba- 
bility, through  the  subordination  of  the  less  to  the  more  important, 
and  through  the  selection  of  the  universal  and  constant  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  accidental  and  ephemeral.*^  Maupassant  thus 
describes,  for  instance,  Flaubert's  construction  of  character.  The 
latter,  he  says,  imagined  types  and,  proceeding  by  deduction,  made 
them  perform  acts  characteristic  of  their  temperaments.*^  One  must 
acknowledge  that  it  is  a  rather  narrow  "nature"  which  the  two 
men  picture.  It  is  admitted,  however,  by  those  who  discuss  the 
matter  that  the  presentation  is  faithful  in  its  way.  For  instance, 
Flaubert  is  said  to  be  too  true  for  the  theatre  *'^ ;  while  Brunetiere 
declares  regarding  Maupassant  that  the  latter  renders  even  that 
which  one  has  not  noticed  in  the  real.*^  As  far  as  one's  personal 
knowledge  or  experience  goes,  it  would  seem  to  confirm  the  verdict 
of  the  critics.  Again  and  again  one  is  struck  by  the  absolute  agree- 
ment of  the  picture  with  what  one  knows  or  can  imagine  of  the 

20  For  example,  MS.,  p.  475.  21  por  example,  S.l'E. 

22  For  example,  P.  Bourget,  Essais  de  psychologie  contemporaine,  I,  148, 
156;  Dumesnil,  Flaubert  et  la  Medecine,  p.  277. 

^^Corr.,  II,  213-14;  III,  486-87;  B.d.S.:  L.s.d.M.,  p.  84. 
24  O.P.,  II :   £.tude  sur  Gustave  Flaubert,  p.  96. 

26  Corr.,  Ill,  183,  449;  IV,  24s,  375;  II,  1 12-13;  III,  129,  193;  P.eJ.:  ^L.R.>, 
pp.  xiii-xiv,  XV,  xii;  Mile  F.:  R.  a  MA.  Wolff,  p.  282;  Mile  F.:  R.  a  M.F.S., 
p.  277. 

^^O.P.,U:E.s.G.F.,p.  99- 

27  R.  Descharmes  et  R.  Dumesnil,  Autour  de  Flaubert,  I,  242-43. 

28  F.  Brunetiere,  "Trois  Romans,"  R.D.M.  (March  i,  1887),  pp.  202-14. 


THEORIES  REGARDING  LITERARY  PROCEDURE  25 

actuality  represented.  The  methods  of  producing  the  effect  of 
reality  will  be  discussed  in  subsequent  paragraphs. 

In  order  to  acquire  the  knowledge  requisite  for  a  truthful  repro- 
duction of  nature  keen  observation  is  the  first  necessity.  It  is  also 
the  indispensable  condition  of  originality.  Maupassant  says  that 
Flaubert  enjoined  upon  him  the  practice  of  looking  long  enough  at 
what  he  desired  to  represent  to  discover  in  it  an  aspect  which  had 
not  been  seen  nor  recorded  by  anyone  before  him-^**  Very  similar 
passages  on  this  subject  are  found  in  the  two  authors. 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

Flaubert  is  writing  to  Mme  de  "Le    talent    provient    de    I'ori- 

Maupassant  of  her  son :  ginalite,  qui  est  une  manikre  speciale 

"Avec    le   tepips   il   gagnera   de  de  penser,  de  voir,  de  comprendre  et 

Voriginalite,    une    maniere    indivi-  de  juger"  [P.eJ.:  «L./?.,»  p.  viii]. 

duelle  de  voir  et  de  sentir  (car  tout  Flaubert's  "de  voir  et  de  sentir" 

est  la)   ...  [^Corr.,  IV,  160].  is  expanded  in  Maupassant. 

A  second  passage  contains  another  phrase  of  Flaubert's,  ''Voir  *.• 
tout  est  Id  et  voir  juste."  ^^ 

To  Flaubert  seeing  is  "absorbing"  the  object.  In  connection  with 
the  composition  of  Un  Coeur  simple  he  writes :  "Depuis  un  mois 
j'ai  sur  ma  table  un  perroquet  empaille  afin  de  «peindre»  d'apres  la 
nature.  Sa  presence  commence  a  me  fatiguer.  N'importe!  je  le 
garde  afin  de  m'emplir  Tame  de  perroquet."  ^^ 

Maupassant  thus  reports  Flaubert's  advice  to  him : 

Quand  vous  passez,  me  disait-il,  devant  un  epicier  assis  sur  sa  porte, 
devant  un  concierge  qui  fume  sa  pipe,  devant  une  station  de  fiacres, 
^  montrez-moi  cet  epicier  et  ce  concierge,  leur  pose,  toute  leur  apparence 
physique  contenant  aussi,  indiquee  par  I'adresse  de  I'image,  toute  leur 
nature  morale,  de  faqon  a  ce  que  je  ne  les  confonde  avec  aucun  autre 
epicier  ou  avec  aucun  autre  concierge,  et  faites-moi  voir,  par  un  seul  mot, 
en  quoi  un  cheval  de  fiacre  ne  ressemble  pas  aux  cinquante  autres  qui  le 
suivent  et  le  precedent.^^ 

In  the  passage  from  Flaubert  we  have  simply  a  slightly  ironic 
description  of  one  application  of  the  method  of  "seeing."  In  that 
from  Maupassant  we  have  a  description  not  only  of  the  method  of 
"seeing"  but  also  of  its  results — the  definite  impression  produced 

^^P.eJ.:   <L.R.i^,  pp.  xxiii-iv.  "  Cofr.,  IV,  268. 

^^.BJS.:   Com,  p.  cli.  ^^P.eJ.:    «L.i?.,»  p.  xxiv. 


26  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

and  the  rendering  of  the  impression  in  few  and  skilful  words.  The 
same  quotation  will  be  seen  to  develop  the  idea  of  the  "character- 
istic detail."  Such  observation  as  has  been  indicated  involves,  of 
course,  precise  attention  to  all  detail,  but  especially  to  the  "charac- 
teristic detail,"  on  which  Maupassant  insists.  The  advice  to  find 
out  and  render  this  "characteristic  detail"  seems  at  first  sight  to 
contradict  the  other  counsel  to  avoid  the  accidental  and  picture 
only  the  constant.  The  "characteristic  detail,"  however,  is  not  acci- 
dental ;  it  is  inherent  by  nature  in  the  object  described ;  it  has  only 
not  yet  been  discovered  or  presented.  Flaubert  himself  explains 
what  he  means  by  the  accidental  in  the  following  passage :  "Je  me 
suis  tou jours  eflforce  d'aller  dans  Tame  des  choses  et  de  m'arreter 
aux  generalites  les  plus  grandes,  et  je  me  suis  detourne  expres  de 
I'accidental  et  du  dramatique.  Pas  de  monstres  et  pas  de  herosT^^ 
The  object  represented  is  to  be  an  average  object;  the  originality 
of  the  author  is  to  consist  in  exhibiting  a  hitherto  unknown  aspect 
of  the  average  object  which  has  become,  to  him,  characteristic 
of  it.  To  illustrate — ^both  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  would  have 
described  one  particular  red  carnation  in  order  to  distinguish  it 
from  all  other  red  carnations,  but  would  probably  have  avoided  the 
description  of  a  green  carnation. 

On  observing  the  actual  practice  of  the  two  men  we  find  that 
the  "characteristic  detail"  is,  in  general,  introduced  less  strikingly 
in  the  work  of  Flaubert  than  in  that  of  Maupassant.  Its  functions 
in  either  case  are  various.  By  Flaubert  it  is  sometimes  used  to 
unify  a  description,  all  other  details  being  made  subordinate  to  it. 
For  instance,  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  chapter  of  Salammho, 
Carthage  is  depicted  according  to  the  lights  and  shadows  caused  by 
the  moonlight  falling  upon  it.^*  Often,  however,  in  this  writer,  the 
multitude  of  minor  details  introduced  in  the  effort  after  complete- 
ness blurs  the  impression,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  a 
"characteristic  detail"  if  such  is  present.^^  In  Maupassant,  on  the 
other  hand,  owing  to  the  constant  use  of  the  "characteristic  detail," 
outlines  are  sharp ;  descriptions  are  easily  grasped  and,  once  grasped, 
may  usually  be  summarized  in  one  or  two  words  and  remembered 
without  difficulty.     Good  examples  may  be  found  in  almost  any  of 

88  Corr.,  IV,  245.  ^*  Sal,  pp.  55-56. 

85  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  130-31.    Is  the  river  the  "characteristic  detail" 
of  the  scene  here? 


THEORIES  REGARDING  LITERARY  PROCEDURE  27 

his  works.^^  ;  The  "characteristic  detail"  is  emphasized  by  both  men,      | 
again  by  Maupassant  more  distinctly  and  more  often  than  by  Flau-      I 
bert,  through  recurring  mention.    An  example  is  the  repeated  ref-       | 
erence,  in  Flaubert  to  the  awkward  and  common  personal  appearance      | 
of  Charles  Bovary,  which  seems  to  symbolize  that  man's  stupidity,^''      I 
and  in  Maupassant  to  the  elegance  of  Julien,  which  furnishes  an      I 
indication,  according  as  it  waxes  or  wanes,  of  the  state  of  the      | 
latter's  amorous  affairs.^^     Other  examples  from  Flaubert  are  the 
insistence  on  the  lack  of  energy  of  Frederic  Moreau  in  UEducation 
sentimentale,  the  designation  of  the  mercenaries  in  Hannibal's  gar- 
den each  by  a  distinctive  trait,  and  the  use  of  the  "characteristic 
detail"  as  a  conclusion  in  the  case  of  Salammbo's  veil  floating  behind 
her  when  she  is  seen  in  the   chariot.^®     '^nrre^ipnnding-  inrtnnrp^ 
from  Maupassant  are  the  dwelling  on  Forestier's  ill-health  and  Mme 
Forestier's  smile  in  Bel-Ami,  the  characterizing  one  by  one  of  the 
travelers  in  the  jiligence  of  Boule  de  Suif,  and  the  concluding  of  the 
story  entitled  Le  Pere  with  a  sentence  giving  the  outstanding  aspect 
of  the  conduct  of  the  "father. "^« 

In  order  to  accomplish  distinctive  as  well  as  accurate  presenta- 
tion both  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  seek  to  avoid  hackneyed  expres- 
sions. A  certain  use  of  "idees  regues"  is  made,  however,  in  Flaubert 
and  more  occasionally  in  Maupassant  in  the  conversations  of  per- 
sonages to  whom  it  is  desired  to  give  the  characteristic  of  "betise." 
Good  examples  are  to  be  found  throughout  Bouvard  et  Pecuchet 
and  in  the  remarks  of  Homais,  the  Abbe  Bournisien,  etc.,  in 
Madame  Bovary. ^^  In  Maupassant  instances  are  to  be  sought  among 
ecclesiastical  pronouncements,  such  as  the  address  of  the  curS  in 
La  Maison  Tellier,  or  in  the  conversation  of  "gens  du  monde,"  like 
that  between  the  two  women  in  the  stagecoach  towards  the  end  of 
Boule  de  Suif}^ 

86  For  example,  the  representation  of  the  characters  in  Une  Vie,  pp.  3-46, 
8-9,  30-34,  35,  etc. 

37  M.B.,  pp.  2,  59,  76,  85,  141,  etc. 

3«  U.V.,  pp.  39,  57,  126,  131,  188,  etc. 

^^L'£dS.,  pp.  12,  30,  32,  34-35,  92-93,  no,  etc.;  Sal,  pp.  3  and  25. 

^^B.-A.,  pp.  8-9,  120,  127,  191,  etc.;  31,  33,  46,  64,  99,  119,  120,  126,  etc.; 
B.d.S.,  pp.  14-20 ;  C.d.J.e.d.l.N.,  p.  44. 

*i  For  example,  B.e.P.,  pp.  4,  5,  8,  11,  17,  24,  etc.;  M.B.,  pp.  102-7,  156-59,  etc. 

^^LM.T.,  pp.  37-38;  Uy.,  p.  234;  B,d.S.,  p.  7r,  U.V.,  p.  136. 


28  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Corresponding  to  the  "characteristic  detail"  in  description  and 
necessary  for  its  delimitation  is  the  "mot  juste"  in  language. 
Flaubert  had  said  that  it  was  time  to  give  to  art  the  precision  of  the 
physical  sciences.*^  Maupassant  had  maintained  that  art  was 
mathematical,  and  that  great  effects  were  to  be  obtained  by  simple 
and  well-combined  means.**  The  "mot  juste"  is  among  the  most 
important  of  these  means.  Both  men  dwell  on  the  subject,  Maupas- 
sant relating  how  Flaubert  insisted  upon  precise  expression.*^  With 
the  master  the  "mot  juste"  is  usually  connected  with  his  idea  of  the 
inevitable  correspondence  between  sound  and  sense;  with  the  pupil 
the  emphasis  is  rather  on  the  actual  just  esse  of  the  mot.  The  fol- 
lowing quotations  will  illustrate  what  is  meant. 

Flaubert  says : 

Ce  souci  de  la  beaute  exterieure  que  vous  me  reprochez  est  pour  moi 
une  methode*  Quand  je  decouvre  une  mauvaise  assonance  ou  une  repeti- 
tion dans  une  de  mes  phrases,  je  suis  sur  que  je  patauge  dans  le  faux; 
a  force  de  chercher,  je  trouve  I' expression  juste  qui  etait  la  seule  et  qui 
est,  en  meme  temps,  I'harmonieuse.'^^ 

Flaubert,  then,  finds  the  mot  juste  with  the  aid  of  the  harmonious 
word. 

Maupassant,  reporting  Flaubert's  advice  to  him,  speaks  as 
follows : 

Obsede  par  cette  croyance  absolue  qu'i/  n'existe  qu'une  maniere 
d'exprimer  une  chose,  un  mot  pour  la  dire,  un  adjectif  pour  la  qualifier 
et  un  verhe  pour  I'animer,  il  se  livrait  a  un  labeur  surhumain  pour  decou- 
vrir,  a  chaque  phrase,  ce  mot,  cette  epithete  et  ce  verbe.  //  croyait  ainsi 
a  une  harmonie  mysterieuse  des  expressions,  et  quand  un  terme  juste  ne 
lui  semblait  point  euphonique,  il  en  cherchait  un  autre  avec  une  invincible 
patience,  certain  qu'il  ne  tenait  pas  le  vrai,  Tunique.*' 

We  find  in  these  words  the  mot  juste  defined  as  "a  noun,  an  adjec- 
tive, or  a  verb."  Otherwise  the  passage  simply  states  again  the 
theory  of  Flaubert  quoted  in  the  preceding  paragraph. 

In  another  passage,  after  speaking  of  Flaubert,  Maupassant 
goes  on  with  his  special  definition  of  the  mot  juste  as  "a  noun,  an 
adjective,  or  a  verb."    He  then  continues :    "II  faut  done  chercher, 

«  Corr.,  Ill,  113.  *«  Corr.,  IV,  251. 

^^B.d.S.:   Corr.,^.c\\\.  ^"^  O. P.,  II:   E.S.G.F.,  p.  130. 

*5For  example,  P.eJ.:   €L.R.,>  pp.  xxiv-xxv. 


THEORIES  REGARDING  LITERARY  PROCEDURE  29 

jusqu'  a  ce  qu'on  les  ait  decouverts,  ce  mot,  ce  verbe  et  cet  adjectif, 
et  ne  jamais  se  contenter  de  Va  peu  pres,  ne  jamais  avoir  recours 
a  des  supercheries,  meme  heureuses,  a  des  clowneries  de  langage 
pour  eviter  la  difficulte."  *^  The  mot  juste  is  to  be  sought  then,  pre- 
sumably, among  the  ordinary  expressions  of  ordinary  good  usage. 
In  this  and  the  following  paragraphs  Maupassant  is  deprecating 
especially  the  employment  of  the  "ecriture  artiste"  (like  that  of 
the  Goncourts  and  others  supposedly)."*®  We  find  in  the  same  place 
the  additional  idea  that  the  relative  position  of  a  word  must  be 
taken  into  account  in  determining  its  exact  meaning.  He  seems 
also  towards  the  end  of  the  passage,  to  advocate  an  attention  to 
sound  similar  to  that  of  Flaubert.  "Ayons,"  he  says,  "moins  de 
noms,  de  verbes  et  d'adjectifs  aux  sens  presque  insaisissables,  mais 
plus  de  phrases  differentes,  diversement  construites,  ingenieusement 
coupees,  pleines  de  sonorites  et  de  rythmes  savants."  This  sentence 
reminds  one  not  a  little  of  the  older  man's  attitude,  quoted  on  a 
preceding  page. 

In  practice  Maupassant  here  again,  as  in  the  case  of  the  "char- 
acteristic detail,"  often  makes  a  deeper  impression  than  Flaubert 
because  there  is  with  him  less  softening  down  of  the  effect.  Exam- 
ples of  the  "mot  juste"  may  be  discovered  on  practically  every  page 
of  both  writers.  Study  of  its  nature  reveals  the  fact  that  it  is,  gener- 
ally speaking,  as  Maupassant  has  told  us  it  will  be,  "a  noun,  a  verb, 
or  an  adjective,"  more  usually  a  verb  or  an  adjective  than  a  noun. 
It  is  also  sometimes  an  adverb.  It  is  often  a  word  used  in  the 
ordinary  sense,  but  when  so  it  does  not  catch  the  attention,  nor 
indeed  can  it  be  expected  to  do  so  under  such  circumstances.  We 
are  not  particularly  struck  upon  hearing  a  spade  called  a  "spade," 
although  "spade"  is  no  doubt  the  "mot  juste"  for  that  instrument. 
The  word  which  impresses  us  with  its  peculiar  fitness  for  definition 
of  a  person,  an  object,  or  a  situation  is  very  frequently  one  used 
figuratively.  Again  the  "mot  juste"  will  at  times  be  a  phrase,  where 
one  word  does  not  seem  to  meet  the  occasion.  The  effort  after  this 
"mot  juste"  results  often  in  Maupassant,  less  frequently  in  Flaubert, 
in  the  employment  of  a  succession  of  words,  usually  verbs  or  adjec- 
tives, aiming  at  the  effect  sought.  Illustration  of  the  "mot  juste" 
is  difficult  because  of  the  great  abundance  of  examples.  It  seems 
necessary,  however,  because  of  the  importance  of  the  subject  in  the 

^^P.eJ.:    4:L.i^.,»  p.  XXV.  ^^ /6td.,  pp.  xxv-vi. 


30  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

doctrine  of  the  two  authors.  An  attempt  will  therefore  be  made 
to  illustrate  the  "mot  juste"  by  means  of  the  following  examples, 
chosen  more  or  less  at  random.  It  has  not  been  thought  advisable 
to  include  instances  of  words  used  merely  in  their  ordinary  sense. 
The  mot  juste  in  Flaubert  as  a  single  word : 

"Elle  entrait  dans  quelque  chose  de  merveilleux  ou  tout  serait  pas- 
sion, extase,  delire;  une  immensite  hleudtre  rentourait,  les  sommets  du 
sentiment  ^/mc^/aiVn^  sous  sa  pensee  ...  "  [Said  of  Emma  at  the  begin- 
ning of  her  intrigue  with  Rodolphe]  (M.B.,  p.  225). 

"...  tout  autour  de  la  peninsule  carthaginoise  une  ceinture  d'ecume 
blanche  oscillait."    [Of  the  waves  breaking  on  the  shore.]     (Sal.,  p.  21.) 

"Des  candelabres,  brulant  sur  les  tables  alignees  dans  toute  la  longueur 
du  vaisseau,  faisaient  des  buissons  de  feux,  ...  "  (T.C.:  Herodias,  p. 

173). 

"Emma,  des  le  vestibule,  sentit  tomber  sur  ses  epaules,  comme  un 

linge  humide,  le  froid  du  platre"  (M.S.,  p.  117). 

"Le  ciel,  d'un  bleu  tendre,  arrondi  comme  un  dome,  s'appuyait  a 
I'horizon  sur  la  dentelure  des  bois"  {L'Ed.S.,  p.  469 y 

"  . . .  le  chagrin  s'engouffrait  dans  son  ame  avec  des  hurlements  doux, 
comme  fait  le  vent  d'hiver  dans  les  chateaux  abandonnes"  {M.B.,  p.  171). 

"La  conversation  de  Charles  etait  plate  comme  un  trottoir  de  rue, 
...   »'  (M.R,  p.  57). 

"...  puis  venait  une  file  de  minces  bouleaux,  inclines  dans  des 
attitudes  elegiaques:  ..."  {L'Ed.S.,  p.  466). 

The  mot  juste  in  Maupassant  as  a  single  word : 
"U arsenal  de  Tesprit  paysan  fut  vide"    {C.d.l.  Bee:   Farce  Normande, 
p.  91). 

"Un  flot  de  soleil  tombait  sur  la  riviere  endormie  et  luisante."  [Of  the 
Seine  on  a  hot  day.]     {Yvette,  p.  56.) 

"La  torche  . . .   illuminait  le  grand  rideaii  de  sapins"  {U.V.,  p.  210). 

"Le  platane  et  le  tilleul  se  devetaient  rapidement  sous  les  rafales'" 
(C7.F.,p.  124). 

"Le  long  de  la  route,  I'herbe,  que  ne  couvrait  point  encore  I'ombre 
impenetrable  des  cimes,  etaite  drue,  luisante,  vernie  de  seve  nouvelle" 
(iV.C,  p.  230). 

"II  etait  laid,  noueux  comme  un  tronc  d'olivier."  [Of  Corsican  ban- 
dit.]    (Au  S.:  Les  Bandits  Corses,  p.  207.) 

On  reading  the  words  italicized  above,  one  has  the  feeling  that 
they  are  exactly  the  expressions  required  in  the  places  where  they 
occur.  Some  examples  will  now  be  given  of  phrases  as  "mots 
justes." 


THEORIES  REGARDING  LITERARY  PROCEDURE  31 

Flaubert : 

"Ainsi  se  tenait,  devant  ces  bourgeois  epanouis,  ce  demi-siecle  de  servi- 
tude." [This  phrase  is  appHed  to  the  old  servant  of  the  "Cornices"  who 
receives  a  medal  for  fifty  years  of  slavish  service.]     {M.B.,  p.  209.) 

"Quand  elle  eut  ainsi  un  pen  battu  le  briquet  sur  son  coeur  sans  en 
fair  jaillir  une  etincelle,  ..."  [Of  Emma,  trying  to  "give  herself 
love."]     {M.B.,  p.  61.) 

Maupassant : 

"Dans  cet  apaisement  du  soleil  absent,  toutes  les  senteurs  de  la  terre 
se  repandaient."  [The  phrase  in  italics  describes  the  peace  of  night.] 
(U.V.,p.  18.) 

"Une  grosse  femme,  bdtie  en  forteresse,  remplaqait  Rosalie  ..." 
{U.V.,  p.  186). 

Besides  striking  combinations  of  words,  such  as  are  illustrated 
above,  both  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  employ  somewhat  vague 
phrases  which  seem  to  contain  rather  an  effort  after  the  "mot  juste" 
than  the  attainment  of  it.    Examples  are  given  below. 

Flaubert : 

"Quelque  chose  des  vitalites  planetaires  le  penetrait.  ..."  [Said 
of  Hannibal  meditating  in  the  "maison-amiral."]     {Sal,  p.  142.) 

"C'etait  comme  une  montagne  lumineuse,  quelque  chose  de  surhumain, 
ecrasant  tout  de  son  opulence  et  de  son  orgueil."  [Said  of  the  Temple, 
seen  by  Herod  from  his  citadel.]     {T.C.:  Her.,  p.  141.) 

Maupassant : 

"  ...  sa  voisine,  . . .  portait  en  elle  ce  quelque  chose  de  fripe,  d'arti- 
ficiel  qu'ont,  en  general,  les  anciennes  actrices,  ..."     (B.-A.,  p.  75). 

Maupassant  frequently  uses  "une  sorte  de"  in  such  phrases, 
instead  of  "quelque  chose  de." 

"Le  murmure  des  voix  montait,  . . .  une  sorte  de  poussiere  de  bruit." 
[Of  voices  of  crowd  heard  from  some  distance.]     (M.-O.,  pp.  38-39). 

The  use  of  a  succession  of  words  in  striving  for  the  mot  juste 
is  much  more  common  in  Maupassant  than  in  Flaubert,  but  is 
occasionally  found  also  in  the  latter. 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

Elle  entrait  dans  quelque  chose  II   lui  demandait  conseil,  pitie, 

de  merveilleux  ou  tout  serait  pas-  secours,     protection,     consolation, 

sion,  extase,  delire.     [M.5.,  p.  225]  . . .   [L'l.B.,  pp.  54-55]. 


32^  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

We  come  now  to  consider  the  attitude  of  the  two  writers  on  the 
question  of  beauty  in  general  effect  apart  from  the  specific  details 
producing  the  result.  This  was  the  supreme  concern  of  Flaubert. 
Form  and  idea  were  indeed,  in  his  eyes,  inextricably  interdependent, 
but,  of  the  two,  form  was  the  more  important.^"  He  seems  to  have 
.  imagined  "style"  as  something  abstracted  from  and  superior  to  the 
content  which  it  clothed.  There  was,  however,  in  practice  an. un- 
breakable connection  between  sound  and  sense,  between  the  mot 
euphonique  and  the  mot  juste.  His  final  test  for  accuracy  of  expres- 
sion was  to  read  a  passage  aloud.  If,  thus  read  aloud,  it  did  not 
satisfy  his  fastidious  ear,  he  set  to  work  to  alter  it.  He  says  him- 
self :  "Les  phrases  mal  ecrites  ne  resistent  pas  a  cette  epreuve ;  elles 
oppressent  la  poitrine,  genent  les  battements  du  coeur,  et  se  trouvent 
ainsi  en  dehors  des  conditions  de  la  vie."  ^^  All  this  shows  flaubert!^.. 
extreme  care  for  the  rhythm  of  his  prose.  From  what  he  has  said 
in  other  passages  we  gather  the  idea  that  style  was  to  him  that  part 
of  an  author's  work  where  the  intangible  something  which  we  call 
"genius"  would  become  apparent.  "Dans  la  precision  des  assem- 
blages, la  rarete  des  elements,  le  poli  de  la  surface,  I'harmonie  de 
I'ensemble,  n'y  a-t-il  pas  une  vertu  intrinseque,  une  espece  de  force 
divine,  quelque  chose  d'eternel  comme  un  principe?"^^  He  even 
goes  so  far  as  to  declare : 

Ce  qui  me  semble  beau,  ce  que  je  voudrais  faire,  c'est  un  livre  sur  rien, 
un  livre  sans  attache  exterieure,  qui  se  tiendrait  de  lui-meme  par  la  force 
interne  de  son  style,  comme  la  terre  sans  etre  soutenue  se  tient  en  I'air, 
un  livre  qui  n'aurait  presque  pas  de  sujet  ou  du  moins  ou  le  sujet  serait 
presque  invisible,  si  cela  se  peut.  Les  oeuvres  les  plus  belles  sont  celles 
oil  il  y  a  le  moins  de  matiere ;  plus  Texpression  se  rappoche  de  la  pensee, 
plus  le  mot  colle  dessus  et  disparait,  plus  c'est  beau.^^ 

Maupassant,  reporting  Flaubert,  notes  the  fact  that  to  the  latter 
the  form  was  the  work  itself,  and  form  and  content  were  inter- 
dependent.^*  He  furnishes  us  besides  with  a  description  of  Flau- 
bert's process  of  reading  aloud  (to  which  the  word  "gueuler"  is 
attached  by  those  who  mention  it,  Flaubert  himself  included). 

Quelquefois  . . .  il  prenait  la  feuille  de  papier,  I'elevait  a  la  hauteur 
du  regard,  et  s'appuyant  sur  un  coude,  declamait  d'une  voix  mordante 

^^Corr.,  I,  196,  244;  II,  129,  426,  430,  etc.;  Ill,  113,  162,  268;  IV,  246. 

51  Corr.,  IV,  Appendix,  p.  457.       ^s  Corr.,  II,  86. 

52  Corr.,  IV,  252-53.  5*  O.P.,  II :  E.s.G.F.,  pp.  129-30. 


THEORIES  REGARDING  LITERARY  PROCEDURE  S3 

et  haute.  II  ecoutait  le  rythme  de  sa  prose,  s'at'retait  comme  pour  saisir 
une  sonorite  fuyante,  combinait  les  tons,  eloignait  les  assonances,  dis- 
posait  les  virgules  avec  science  comme  les  haltes  d'un  long  chemin.^^ 

After  having  once  discovered  a  harmonious  phrase  Flaubert 
found  it,  says  Maupassant,  impossible  to  change,  even  where  such 
change  would  have  been  to  the  advantage  of  the  sense.^^  He  quotes 
a  long  pronouncement  of  Flaubert's  on  the  rare  difficulty  and  dignity 
of  rhythm  in  prose. ^^  He  gives  also  two  definitions  of  what  seems 
to  him  to  be  Flaubert's  conception  of  style.  In  one  place  he  says 
that  style  to  Flaubert  is  not  a  mere  matter  of  words  but  includes  all 
the  qualities  of  the  thinker  and  writer.^^  In  another  passage  on  the 
same  page  he  distinguishes  between  "styles" — the  separate  manners 
of  writing  peculiar  to  separate  individuals — and  "style" — something 
which  has  almost  a  being  of  its  own  apart  from  content,  and  which 
does  not  vary  from  one  author  to  another.  It  seems  here  to 
mean  rather  what  we  should  call  "the  inspiration  of  genius"  than 
anything  else.  The  two  definitions  are  not  necessarily  contradictory, 
but  the  latter  seems  to  come  nearer  than  the  former  to  what  we 
have  seen  to  be  Flaubert's  own  idea  of  "style." 

Maupassant,  when  he  comes  to  speak  for  himself,  says  that  the^ 
true  power  of  literature  lies  not  so  much  in  what  is  said  as  in  the  J 
method  of  preparation  and  presentation.  The  expression  must  accord  .; 
with  the  idea,  such  agreement  possessing  a  certain  beauty  not  per- '} 
ceptible  by  the  crowd.^^ 

As  we  turn  now  from  theory  to  practice  a  general  perusal  of 
the  works  of  the  two  men  leads  to  the  impression  that  their  styles 
are,  on  the  whole,  not  closely  similar.  One  misses,  for  example, 
in  the  precision  of  the  younger  man  the  general  romantic  atmosphere 
of  the  typical  Flaubertian  passage.  Neither  does  one  usually  find 
in  Maupassant  the  striking  phrases  with  rhythmical  effect  common 
especially  in  the  earlier  work  of  the  older  writer.  Where  one  does 
find  such  phrases,  contrary  to  custom,  in  Maupassant,  one  might 
be  led  to  suspect  an  influence,  especially  where  thought  or  wording 
or  both  are  at  all  alike.  The  two  following  phrases  suggest  such 
a  resemblance : 

25  Ibid.,  p.  131.  58  Jbid.,  p.  129. 

56  Ibid.,  p.  132.  59  ji^id^^  p.  128. 

57  Ibid.,  pp.  132-33. 


34  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

L'oblique    genuflexion    des    de-  L'onde  onctueuse  des   consola- 

vots  presses  [M.B.,  p.  331].  tions  ecclesiastiques  [U.V.,  p.  233]. 

The  rhythm  of  these  two  phrases  is  very  similar,  and  the  ideas 
are  at  least  related. 

In  two  other  respects  there  is  a  resemblance  between  Flaubert 
apd  Maupassant  in  point  of  style.  On  the  one  hand,  both  attain  to 
a  considerable  degree  of  "justesse"  of  tone  as  well  as  of  word.  As 
examples  from  Flaubert  one  might  cite  the  generally  poetic  effect 
of  La  Legende  de  Saint  Julien  I'Hospitalier  compared  with  the  sim- 
plicity of  Un  Coeur  simple.  The  same  quality  is  very  evident  in 
practically  all  of  Maupassant's  stories  of  peasant  life,  as,  for  in- 
stance, in  the  laconic  recital  of  the  accident  in  En  Mer,  or  in  the 
familiar  conversation  of  La  Bete  a  Matt'  BelhVmme.^^  On  the  other 
hand,  there  is  frequently  a  disparity  more  or  less  distinctly  felt 
between  style  and  subject.  In  Flaubert  we  have,  as  in  Madame 
Bovary,  the  opposition  between  romantic  style  and  commonplace 
subject ;  in  Maupassant  we  meet  often  the  contrast  between  charm- 
ing style  and  utterly  disagreeable  subject.  Both  men  employ  many 
similar  technicalities  of  style ;  these  will  be  taken  up  in  later 
paragraphs.®^ 

The  two  authors  agree  that  there  must  be  harmony  between  word 
and  idea,  not  only  in  separate  passages  of  a  work  but  also  throughout 
the  whole  work.  Such  unity  is  frequently  attained  through  the 
ironical  presentation  of  Hfe,  which  results  in  large  measure  from  the 
scorn  of  humanity  entertained  by  either.  Nothing  escapes  their 
irony ;  all  classes,  all  conditions,  all  situations,  and  all  events  touched 
by  them  come  alike  under  the  lash.  In  expressing  itself  this  irony 
assumes  various  forms.  Sometimes  it  manifests  itself  in  circum- 
stances. People  are  constantly  being  duped  or  disenchanted.  Emma 
Bovary,  for  example,  despises  the  one  man  who  ever  truly  loves 
her  and  seems  to  be  touched  by  some  faint  realization  of  her  mis- 
take only  at  the  eleventh  hour.®^  Mme  Loisel  wears  herself  out  in 
order  to  replace  a  necklace  which  turns  out  to  have  been  of  false 

^^  C.d.lBec,  pp.  129-39;  M.Par.,  pp.  79-91. 

®^  After  Madame  Bovary  the  style  of  Flaubert  tends  to  lose  its  figurative 
quality,  so  that  in  his  later  works  it  approximates  the  dryness  and  simplicity 
of  Maupassant's  manner. 

«2M.5.,  pp.  437,  438. 


THEORIES  REGARDING  LITERARY  PROCEDURE  35 

stones,  and  is  informed  of  the  fruitlessness  of  her  labor  only  after 
she  has  lost  forever  youth,  beauty,  and  happiness.^^  Sometimes  the 
ironical  effect  is  increased  by  a  process  of  cumulation,  as  in  Boule  de 
Suif,  where  the  "respectable"  characters  appear  one  after  another 
as  knaves  and  hypocrites  beside  the  woman  they  despise,  or  in 
Bouvard  et  Pecuchet,  where  Flaubert  takes  up  successively  the  dif- 
ferent departments  of  human  thought,  only  to  show  the  folly  of  all. 
The  idea  that  thought  is  one  of  the  worst  things  in  life  because  it 
makes  men  wretched  is  expressed  in  so  many  words  towards  the 
beginning  of  this  book,  and  occurs  more  than  once  in  Maupassant.^* 
An  illustration  of  its  acceptance  by  both  men  is  that  they  describe 
most  sympathetically  those  characters  least  distinguished  by  think- 
ing— the  simple,  animal-like  peasants.  In  the  pursuit  of  irony  the 
characters  are  sometimes  made  to  say  ridiculous  things ;  for  instance, 
in  the  manner  of  Homais  and  the  Homais-like  personages  in  Mau- 
passant.^^ Sometimes  a  remark  by  the  author  supplies  the  point  of 
irony,  as  where  Arnoux  is  said  to  seek  "le  sublime  a  bon  marche," 
or  where  "mon  oncle  Sosthene"  is  described  as  "libre  penseur  par 
betise."®^  The  effect  of  much  of  the  irony  of  both  authors  is  that  of 
sardonic  humor — an  attribute  of  authorship  which  Flaubert  expresses 
himself  as  desirous  of  developing  in  order  to  accomplish  the  ironic 
picture  after  which  he  strives.  Maupassant  thinks  that  his  master 
has  attained  this  particularly  in  Bouvard  et  Pecuchet.  The  passages 
expressing  these  ideas  are  as  follows : 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

Le  comique  arrive  a  rextreme,  Maupassant  finds  in  Bouvard  et 

le   comique   qui  ne  vous  fait  pas     Pecuchet  "un  comique  tout  particu- 
rire,  le  cynisme  dans  la  blague,  est      Her,  un  comique  sinistre"  \_0.P.,  II, 
pour  moi  tout  ce  qui  me  fait  le  plus      105]. 
envie   comme   ecrivain    [Corr.,   II, 
140]. 

Even  in  less  apparently  ironical  humorous  situations  in  Maupas- 
sant there  is  often  a  sting  in  the  very  extremity  of  the  absurdity.^^ 

^^C.dJ.e.d.l.N.:  La  Parure,  pp.  69-74. 
«-*  For  example,  B.e.P.,  p.  13;  L'LB,,  pp.  30-31 ;  B.-A.,  p.  211. 
65  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  111-12,  etc.;  C.d.L.:    Un  Coup  d'etat,  pp.  3-31, 
32,  etc. 

^^U£dS.,  p.  56;  LS.R.:  M.OS.,  p.  109. 

6'^  For  example,  Toine;  Marius  in  Une  Vie,  pp.  132-33,  139;  etc. 


36  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Maupassant  is  at  times  frankly  and  gratuitously  vulgar,*^  or  exhibits 
a  coarseness  which  appears  also  in  Flaubert,  and  from  which  he  was 
at  least  not  discouraged  by  the  latter.^^  In  the  later  works  of 
Maupassant  and  to  a  much  smaller  degree  of  Flaubert,  as  sympathy 
increases  irony  tends  to  disappear,  although  never  perhaps  entirely 
absent.'^" 

With  regard  to  subjects,  both  men  hold  that  any  subject  is 
admissible,  but  that  the  author  should  choose  what  is  suited  to  his 
temperament/^  Flaubert  concedes  so  much  to  temperament  that  he 
declares  subjects  are  not  chosen  but  impose  themselves  through 
its  influence.  Masterpieces  may  be  written  on  any  subject,  even  the 
most  insignificant  and  vulgar.  The  author,  seeing  that  he  is  to  be 
controlled  by  his  own  temperament,  must  be  free  from  the  interfer- 
ence of  external  criticism.  In  these  points  Maupassant  agrees  with 
his  master  either  explicitly  or  implicitly.  Upon  investigation  we  dis- 
cover that  the  subjects  actually  selected  by  the  two  are  for  the  most 
part  "realistic" — the  representation  of  middle-class  mediocre  human- 
ity in  the  provinces  or  in  Paris,  of  the  peasant  on  his  native  soil,  of 
the  government  functionary  in  the  performance  of  his  monotonous 
duties,  of  illicit  love,  of  birth,  marriage,  and  death.  Even  in  the  pic- 
turing of  more  "far-off"  matters,  as  in  Salammho  or  in  Maupassant's 
stories  of  fanciful  beings  or  occurrences,^^  the  "realistic"  method  is 
used,  such  procedure  and  details  being  adopted  in  presentation  as 
will  give  the  impression  of  actual  fact.  What  the  method  of  devel- 
opment is  will  be  discussed  in  the  succeeding  chapter  of  this  thesis. 

If  all  subjects  are  equally  worthy,  and  if  form  is  the  supreme  con- 
cern of  art,  it  will  follow  that  the  artist  will  write  for  the  sake  of  art 
alone.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Flaubert  held  very  strongly  the  theory 
of  "art  for  art's  sake,"  of  the  non-concern  of  art  with  morality  or 
utility.  Maupassant  thus  sums  up  his  master's  teaching  on  this  mat- 
ter: All  great  writers  have  protested  against  making  their  works 
didactic.  Principles  are  indispensable  to  the  social  order,  but  letters 
and  the  social  order  have  nothing  in  common.    The  chief  concern 

«8  For  example,  certain  elements  in  the  story  of  Toine. 
«»  For  example,  Sal,  p.  153 ;  S.l'E.,  p.  103. 
^0  See  above,  pp.  21-24. 

"  Corr.,  II,  82,  84-85,  86-87,  293;  III,  147,  304,  542;  IV,  255;  P-eJ.:  ^L.R.,> 
pp.  vii-viii,  x;  Mile  P.:  R.  d  M.F.S.,  pp.  275  ff. 
'2  For  example,  Le  Horla,  pp.  3-48. 


THEORIES  REGARDING  LITERARY  PROCEDURE  37 

of  novelists  is  to  observe  and  describe  human  passions,  good  or  bad. 
Their  mission  is  not  to  moralize  or  instruct.  Every  book  advocating 
a  cause  ceases  thereby  to  be  an  artistic  book.^^ 

Finally  both  men  were  conscious  of  the  fundamental  need  of  pro- 
longed and  incessant  work  in  order  to  attain  success  in  writing.  Both 
exemplified  this  belief  in  practice.  Maupassant  records  the  fact  of 
Flaubert's  unremitting  labor  ;^*  we  have  noted  above  the  latter's 
advice  to  the  former  on  the  necessity  of  work;^^  and  the  younger 
man  himself  must  have  undergone  extreme  toil  in  order  to  complete 
what  we  have  from  his  pen  within  the  space  of  his  comparatively 
short  literary  career. 

In  considering  the  literary  theories  of  Flaubert  and  Maupassant 
reference  has  been  made  only  to  such  beliefs  as  the  two  hold  in  com- 
mon. We  have  not  attempted  to  give  a  complete  statement  of  the 
doctrine  of  either.  Yet  what  has  been  said  includes  the  more  impor- 
tant tenets  of  both.  We  have  seen  how,  in  some  cases,  Maupassant 
develops  a  particular  aspect  of  a  theory  further  than  does  Flaubert 
and  perhaps  passes  lightly  over  what  the  latter  emphasizes.  A  good 
example  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  the  case  of  the  mot  juste,  where, 
as  we  saw,  Maupassant  dwells  upon  the  justesse  of  the  mot,  Flaubert 
rather  upon  its  euphony.  In  general  we  may  say  that  Maupassant's 
theory,  with  its  insisting  upon  but  one  or  two  points,  is  less  elabo- 
rately worked  out  than  Flaubert's.  In  practice  the  theory  of  each 
expands  or  becomes  more  clearly  differentiated.  Impersonality,  for 
instance,  is  found  to  present  different  aspects  or  different  degrees 
of  intensity,  "nature"  to  have  a  certain  specific  meaning.  On 
the  whole  the  case  for  the  influence  of  one  man  on  the  other  is 
strengthened  when  theories  which  in  their  statement  might  have 
indicated  merely  repetition  of  the  one  by  the  other  are  observed  to 
be  effectively  operative  in  both. 

73  O.P.,  II,  97- 

74  Ibid.,  pp.  124,  130,  134-35. 
''^  See  above,  p.  6. 


CHAPTER  IV 

UKENESS  IN  EMPLOYMENT  OF  GENERAL 
REALISTIC  DEVICES 

Besides  the  literary  devices  of  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  already 
discussed,  which  result  from  the  theories  definitely  stated  by  them, 
there  are  additional  literary  procedures  employed  by  both  which,  for 
the  most  part,  they  share  in  common  with  the  other  realists  of  the 
day.  In  tracing  the  relationship  between  the  two  men  it  would  not 
be  wise  to  omit  consideration  of  such  procedures,  for  certain  of  them 
may  come  from  the  one  to  the  other  instead  of  being  a  common 
heritage.  In  any  event,  when  taken  along  with  less  disputable  cases 
of  influence,  the  assemblage  of  them  will  possess  a  cumulative  weight 
of  proof  for  the  relationship. 

Many  of  these  procedes,  now  to  be  considered,  may  be  grouped 
together  under  the  head  of  "realistic  details."  The  first  of  these 
details  is  the  practice  of  beginning  in  medias  res,  which  is  the  usual 
procedure  of  both  men  in  their  novels  and  a  frequent  one  of  Maupas- 
sant's in  his  short  stories.  Closely  akin  to  this  is  the  ending  with  a 
kind  of  "broken-off "  effect,  leaving  in  the  reader's  mind  the  idea  of 
an  action  still  continuing,  as  in  real  life.  So  conclude  Flaubert's 
Madame  B ovary,  U Education  sentimentale,  and  Herodias,  and  Mau- 
passant's Notre  Coeur,  Pierre  et  Jean  and  Bel-Ami,  besides  some  of 
the  latter's  short  stories.^ 

Definite  time  indications  are  exceedingly  common  in  both  authors. 
The  year,  the  month,  the  day,  the  hour,  of  an  event  is  often  men- 
tioned with  extreme  exactitude.  In  some  stories  one  can  date  exactly 
or  approximately  almost  every  episode.  Examples  would  be  Un 
Coeur  simple  and  Une  Vie.  On  the  other  hand  there  are  narratives 
with  little  or  no  definite  dating,  like  Flaubert's  Saint  Julien  I'Hos- 
pitalier  or  Maupassant's  Mont-Oriol.  Dating  is  often  from  the  age 
of  a  character  or  characters,^  or  from  a  well-known  and  definitely 
fixed  event — a  historical  fact,  for  instance,  such  as  some  political 

1  For  example,  in  C.d.L.,  Un  Coup  d'etat,  Le  Pere,  etc. 

2  See  Un  Coeur  simple  and  Une  Vie,  already  mentioned,  where  some  of  the 
definite  dating  is  done  through  mention  of  ages. 

38 


LIKENESS  IN  GENERAL  REALISTIC  DEVICES  39 

occurrence.  L'Education  sentimentale  furnishes  many  examples  of 
this  latter  method,  as  do  also  Maupassant's  stories  of  the  Franco- 
Prussian  War.^  Lapse  of  time  is  sometimes  denoted  in  so  many 
words,*  sometimes  implied  through  the  use  of  the  imperfect  tense 
or  in  the  multitude  of  happenings.^  Occasionally  it  is  suggested  by 
the  reappearance  of  some  thing  to  which  attention  has  been  called 
before,  and  which  has  then  been  lost  from  view  for  a  time.  An 
example  in  Flaubert  is  the  wedding  bouquet  of  Madame  Bovary,  put 
aside  by  her  on  the  evening  of  her  arrival  in  Tostes,  and  discovered 
in  a  drawer  when  she  is  about  to  leave  the  place,  after  long-continued 
experience  of  disenchantment.^  A  similar  instance  in  Maupassant  is 
furnished  by  the  calendar  marking  for  Jeanne  the  day  of  her  depar- 
ture from  school  life  to  expected  happiness  in  the  future,  which, 
found  by  her,  with  other  calendars,  in  the  attic,  after  long  years  of 
disappointment,  is  utilized  in  her  effort  to  reconstruct  the  past.^  The 
actual  mention  of  the  time  in  both  writers  is  often  made  in  the  most 
casual  way,  as  befits  the  realistic  method.  "Un  apres-midi  (c'etait  le 
20  Janvier  1839),  Bouvard  etant  a  son  comptoir  regut  une  lettre, 
apportee  par  le  facteur."®  "C'etait  en  1827,  au  mois  de  juillet.  Je  me 
trouvais  a  Rouen  en  garnison."^ 

A  special  method  of  time  indication,  perhaps  more  distinctive  of 
Flaubert  and  Maupassant  than  those  already  discussed,  is  that  given 
by  means  of  some  happening  denoting  the  season  of  the  year.  This 
is  fairly  frequent  in  Flaubert,  and  it  is  possible  that  Maupassant  may 
have  taken  it  from  him.  Well-known  examples  are  the  splashing  of 
drops  of  melting  snow  on  Emma's  parasol,  and  the  falHng  of  the  ripe 
peach  from  against  the  wall  when  Rodolphe  and  Emma  are  in  the 
garden  together.^*^  A  frequent  instance  in  Maupassant  is  the  rather 
commonplace  mention  of  falling  leaves  to  suggest  the  autumn  sea- 
son.^^    The  "heavy  heat"  of  summer  is  noted  by  both  men.^^    Some- 

3  For  example,  L'Ed.S.,  pp.  38  ff.,  311,  409  flf.,  456  ff.,  475  ff-;  Mile  F.,  pp. 
3-27;  Mile  F.:  Deux  Amis,  pp.  209-21. 

4  T.C.:    U.C.S.,  p.  57;  U.V.,  p.  288. 

5  For  example,  T.C.:   SJ.VH.,  pp.  82-89,  etc.;  M.-O.,  pp.  121  ff.,  etc. 
«  M.B.,  pp.  44-45,  94-  ^  B.e.P.,  p.  14. 

7  U.V.,  pp.  2,  367.  9  C.d.L.:   Apparition,  p.  157. 

^^M.B.,  pp.  23,  275;  cf.  Brunetiere,  Le  Roman  naturaliste,  pp.  181-83. 

11  For  example,  U.V.,  pp.  118- 19;  L.p.R.,  pp.  32-33;  etc. 

12  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  284;  L'£dS.,  pp.  466-67;  U.V.,  p.  70;  L.M.T.: 
En  Famille,  p.  137. 


40  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

times  the  time  of  day  is  indicated  thus  characteristically,  as  well  as 
the  time  of  year.  Both  men,  for  instance,  call  attention  to  another 
generally  observed  circumstance,  the  "peeping"  or  fluttering  of  the 
birds  in  the  very  early  morning.^^ 

A  common  method  of  giving  vividness  to  a  narration  is  that  of 
"taking  things  for  granted,"  explanation  being  omitted,  as  if  one  were 
dealing  with  a  well-known  object  or  current  event.  Flaubert  has 
sometimes  carried  this  practice  so  far  that  the  result  is  a  sense 
of  vagueness,  present,  for  instance,  on  reading  many  passages  of 
Salammbo}^  When  not  pushed  to  excess,  however,  the  procedure 
lends  an  effect  of  reality  to  a  picture,  the  author,  as  it  were,  asso- 
ciating the  reader  with  himself  in  his  knowledge.  A  good  example 
is  the  introduction  of  Charles  Bovary  into  the  schoolroom  at  the 
beginning  of  Madame  Bovary,  when  the  writer  and  others  are  sup- 
posed to  be  witnesses  of  his  advent.^^  Another  instance  in  the  same 
book  is  the  mention,  without  comment,  of  the  "pavilion  at  the  angle 
of  the  wall,"  to  which  Emma  directs  her  solitary  walks  at  Tostes. 
The  practice  of  participation  by  the  author  is  common  in  Maupassant, 
one  of  whose  regular  precedes  is  to  begin  the  relation  of  an  adventure 
as  if  it  were  something  pertaining  to  current  gossip,  or  an  incident 
told  among  friends.  His  "I"  corresponds  in  these  cases  to  Flaubert's 
"we"  at  the  beginning  of  Madame  Bovary.  His  own  creations  are 
brought  in  as  if  they  were  events  known  in  the  world  familiar  to 
author  and  reader  alike.^® 

Another  device  used  by  both  men  is  to  relate  a  description  to  life 
by  means  of  some  picturesque  or  vivid  detail.  For  instance,  when 
the  river  at  Yonville-l'Abbaye  is  pictured,  we  are  told  that  it  is  there 
that  the  boys  of  the  neighborhood  fish.  Sometimes  a  detail  of  this 
kind  seems  to  obtrude  itself  unnecessarily  upon  our  notice,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  blue  seal  upon  the  letter  brought  to  Charles  Bovary  by 
night  from  "Les  Bertaux."^^  In  Maupassant  the  procedure  is  fre- 
quent. Here  is  an  example  taken  from  the  opening  paragraph  of 
Notre  Coeur:  "Un  jour  Massival,  le  musicien,  le  celebre  auteur  de 

IS  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  i6 ;  U.  V.,  p.  22. 
1*  For  example,  beginning  of  Sal.  ^^  M.B.,  p.  i. 

18  For  example,  MJPar.:    L'Inconnue,  p.   109,  L'&pingle,  p.   187,   Ca  ira, 
p.  233 ;  Le  Horla,  etc. 

17  M.B.,  p.  95 ;  ibid.,  p.  15. 


LIKENESS  IN  GENERAL  REALISTIC  DEVICES  41 

«Rebecca:»,  celui  que,  depuis  quinze  ans  deja,  on  appelait  <de  jeune  et 
illustre  maUre»,  dit  ... "  What  seem  at  first  sight  to  be  superfluous 
details  are  much  less  common  in  Maupassant  than  in  Flaubert.  The 
following  is  an  example  of  what  might  be  called  one.  Boule  de  Suif 
has  just  offered  M.  Loiseau  some  of  her  chicken  "...  sur  la  pointe 
d'un  couteau  toujoiirs  loge  dans  sa  poche,  il  enleva  une  cuisse  toute 
vernie  de  gelee   . . .  "^^ 

In  the  works  of  both  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  there  is  consider- 
able employment  of  technical  detail  of  various  kinds.  Medical  and 
pathological  particulars,  frequently  used  with  caricatural  intent,  are 
found  in  connection  with  the  "pied  bot"  of  Madame  Bovary,  with  the 
diphtheria  case  of  UEducation  sentimentale ,  with  the  mineral  springs 
of  Mont-Oriol,  with  the  folly  of  Madame  Hermet,  as  well  as  in  many 
other  places.^^  Financial  items  in  the  matter  of  business  dealings,  of 
inheritances,  and  of  other  money  transactions  recur  constantly  in 
Flaubert's  novels  and  in  Maupassant's  romans  and  nouvelles.  Ex- 
amples are  the  manoeuvres  of  Lheureux,  of  Frederic,  of  Bel-Ami,  of 
Andermatt,  and  of  many  others.^*^  Various  other  scientific  or  pseudo- 
scientific  details  are  largely  used  by  Flaubert,  as  in  the  erudite  disser- 
tations of  Salammbo  and  the  absurd  discussions  of  Bouvard  et 
Pecuchet.  Nearest  to  these  in  Maupassant  are  the  many  local  words 
employed,  without  explanation,  in  the  accounts  of  the  latter's  trav- 
elings in  Algeria.^^ 

Particulars  regarding  food,  costume,  furniture,  especially  when 
these  are  of  unusual  kinds,  are  very  common  in  Flaubert,  and  less 
common,  though  still  constantly  discoverable,  in  Maupassant.  De-.^ 
scriptions  of  such  things  in  the  latter,  where  they  are  found,  ar^ 
less  extensive  than  in  the  former,  Maupassant  seeming  to  be  hejfe 
less  "bourgeois"  in  his  interest  than  Flaubert.  Examples  of  ihi 
details  under  discussion  are  to  be  found  in  the  accounts  of  the  feasti 
and  of  the  costumes  of  the  heroines  in  Madame  Bovary  and 

^^B.dS.,  p.  25.  I 

^^M.B.,  pp.  241-58;  U£dS.,  pp.  401-4;  M.-O.,  pp.  221-30,  etc.;  L.M.G.: 

Madame  Hermet,  pp.  253-67 ;  Sal,  p.  45,  etc. ;  S.L'E.,  pp.  85-92 ;  etc. 

20  M.B.,  pp.  13,  25,  262-63,  etc. ;  Sal,  pp.  78-84,  etc. ;  L'^dS.,  pp.  139-40,  etc. ; 

B.e.P.,  pp.  14-17,  etc.;  B.-A.,  pp.  127-28,  etc.;  M.-O.,  pp.  11,  29,  178-79,  etc.; 

M.  Har.:  U Heritage,  pp.  88-89,  etc.;  U.V.,  pp.  306-7;  etc. 

21  For  example,  Au  S.,  p.  37,  "le  goum  de  I'agha  de  Saida" ;  p.  40,  "bien  au 

dela  du  chott" ;  etc.;  cf.  Kipling. 


42  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Salammho,  as  well  as  of  the  house- furnishings  in  both  books." 
Instances  of  the  same  kind  of  thing  in  Maupassant  are  the  descrip- 
tions in  Notre  Coeiir  of  the  dinner  given  by  Mme  de  Burne,  and  of 
the  fittings  of  that  lady's  house.^^  Some  specific  details,  such  as  the 
use  of  the  word  "acajou"  in  connection  with  furniture,  and  the 
introduction  of  secretaries,  with  or  without  secret  drawers,^^  which 
are  similar  in  the  two  men,  are  probably  to  be  attributed  to  a  common 
acquaintance  with  prevailing  fashion. 

There  is  frequent  reference  in  both  authors  to  historical  events. 
Sometimes  this  mention  is  confined  to  the  giving  of  the  date  or  the 
naming  of  the  event.^^  Sometimes  the  fortunes  of  the  personages 
are  closely  related  to  the  historical  situation,  reference  to  the  charac- 
ter being  interwoven  with  description  of  the  fact,  as  in  numerous 
passages  of  ^Education  sentimentale  or  in  Maupassant's  stories  of 
the  War  of  1870.^®  Sometimes  extracts  from  history  are  given  in  con- 
nection with  descriptions  of  places.  Par  les  Champs  et  par  les  Greves 
furnishes  good  examples  of  this.^^  Some  instances  are  found  in 
Maupassant's  accounts  of  his  travels.^^  An  episode  of  Norman  life 
calls  forth  from  him  also  on  one  occasion  some  facts  of  Norman 
history.^^  A  very  frequent  form  of  historical  reference  in  the  works 
of  the  two  authors,  accompanied  sometimes  by  citations,  is  that  to 
well-known  writers  or  other  famous  men,  both  contemporary  and 
belonging  to  the  past — for  example,  to  Sir  Walter  Scott,  to  Rousseau, 
to  Voltaire,  to  Robespierre,  to  Napoleon,  to  Balzac,  etc.^^    Perhaps 

22 For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  38-39,  43-45,  69,  83,  179,  etc.;  Sal,  pp.  4-5,  M, 
103-4,  248-49. 

^^B.-A.,  pp.  120-21,  123,  125;  N.C.,  pp.  15,  38,  48,  80,  146,  185,  192-93,  etc.; 
N.C.,  pp.  5-7. 

24  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  366;  M.-O.,  p.  70;  U.V.,  p.  33;  M.B.,  p.  478;  U.V., 
pp.  33,  240. 

25 For  example,  U.C.S.,  p.  42;  L'£dS.,  pp.  424-25,  etc.;  C.d.lB.:  Saint- 
Antoine,  p.  223;  L.V.E.,  pp.  109-10. 

^^L'£dS.,  pp.  409,  about  500,  etc.;  B.d.S.:  S.-A.;  etc. 

27  P.l.C.e.p.l.G.,  for  example,  pp.  13-17,  19,  52-53,  etc. 

28  For  example,  Au  S.,  pp.  186,  217-30,  etc. 
29L./e.(f.M.//.,  pp.  32-33. 

30  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  51,  80,  81,  115,  125,  147,  244,  etc.;  L'£d.S.,  pp.  15, 
19,  21,  39,  41-42,  105,  195,  etc. ;  Sal.,  pp.  144-45,  3i8-i9,  335,  etc. ;  B.e.P.,  pp.  5,  97, 
137,  etc.;  U.V.,  pp.  3,  33;  B.-A.,  pp.  93-94,  197;  M.-O.,  pp.  114,  151;  M.  Par., 
pp.  255,  264,  268;  L.R.d.M.H.,  pp.  261-62;  etc. 


LIKENESS  IN  GENERAL  REALISTIC  DEVICES 


43 


here  might  be  included  Maupassant's  mention  of  Flaubert  once  or 
twice  in  a  rather  gossiping  way,  to  tell  how  he  met  certain  people  at 
Flaubert's,  or  how  the  latter  made  such  and  such  a  remark  on  such 
and  such  an  occasion.^^  In  one  passage  Maupassant  narrates  a  visit 
to  the  puppet-show  of  " Saint- Antoine"  with  Flaubert  and  Bouilhet, 
linking  this  and  other  visits  thereto  with  the  remembrances  of  his 
childhood.^^  Of  historical  import  also  for  the  period  to  which  they 
belong,  even  if  not  unique  of  their  kind,  are  the  pictures  given  by 
Flaubert  and  Maupassant  of  contemporary  life,  whether  in  France  or 
abroad. 

Throughout  their  works  both  authors  note  the  sounds  proper  to 
their  descriptions.  Sometimes  we  are  invited  to  listen  to  the  animals 
in  the  country,  especially  to  the  crowing  of  cocks  and  the  barking  of 
dogs.^^  Sometimes  it  is  the  ringing  of  bells  that  we  hear,  or  the 
passing  of  vehicles,  or  the  confused  murmur  or  more  definite  noises 
of  a  city.^*  Sometimes  a  character  pays  attention  to  the  beating  of 
her  own  heart.^^  Very  often  the  effect  of  the  sound  is  heightened 
through  being  opposed  to  the  impression  of  silence  or  of  silence  and 
darkness.  Most  frequently  mentioned  in  this  connection  is  the  strik- 
ing or  ticking  of  a  clock  or  watch  in  the  stillness  of  night,  often  in  a 
death  chamber.^^  Silence  is  occasionally  emphasized,  on  the  other 
hand,  through  the  contrast  with  slight  noises,  such  as  those  made  by 
the  little  wild  creatures  in  the  underbrush  at  night,  or  by  the  mys- 
terious denizens  of  the  sea.^^ 

As  well  as  to  sounds,  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  call  attention  very 
frequently  to  odors,  pleasant  or  unpleasant,  natural  or  artificial.^® 

31  For  example,  Au  S.,  pp.  7,  191,  196;  M.  Par.,  p.  264;  L.p.R.,  p.  269. 
^^L.R.d.M.H.:  Souvenirs,  pp.  237-44. 

33  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  17,  18,  190,  203,  221,  466;  Utd.S.,  pp.  463,  467; 
U.CS.,  pp.  II,  14;  U.V.,  pp.  19,  21-22,  50,  119,  134,  343;  C.d.l.B.:  Pierrot,  pp. 
51-57,  Les  Sabots,  p.  99,  Un  Coq  chanta,  pp.  184,  188,  191,  L'Aventure  de  Walter 
Schnaffs,  p.  241,  La  Tombe,  p.  253 ;  and  so  on. 

34  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  153,  364,  393,  80,  353;  L'&d.S.,  pp.  70,  71,  7^^  etc.; 
Mile.  P.,  p.  26;  B.-A.,  pp.  50,  53;  U.V.,  p.  354;  N.C.,  p.  71 ;  etc. 

35  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  438-39;  U.V.,  p.  19.  . 
3«M.5.,  p.  454;  P.e.J.,  p.  113;  etc. 

^"^  M.B.,  p.  275;  U.V.,  pp.  18-19;  L.p.R.;  L'Bpave,  pp.  79-80. 

38  For  example,  Sal,  pp.  34,  56,  61,  94-95,  132,  178-79,  247,  etc.^  M.-O., 
pp.  96,  101,  103;  B.-A.,  p.  45;  C.d.L.:  En  Voyage,  pp.  244-45;  etc. 


44  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

The  word  "nauseabond"  is  common  in  both.^®  The  effect  of  odors  on 
man  is  observed.*" 

Much  space  is  likewise  given  to  color.  Sometimes  color  is  piled 
upon  color,*^  this  being  done  in  places  in  order  to  produce  a  ridiculous 
or  ironical  effect.  Thus  Charles  Bovary,  on  his  first  appearance,  is 
decked  out  in  an  absurd  combination  of  colors.*^  Thus  also  the 
tapestries  in  Jeanne's  room  are  executed  according  to  a  most  bizarre 
color-scheme.*^  In  this  latter  passage  it  almost  seems  as  if  Maupas- 
sant were  making  fun  of  the  practice  of  adding  color  to  color.  Fre- 
quently two  contrasting  colors  are  mentioned  together,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  pigeons  of  Madame  Bovary  and  Boule  de  Suif}^ 

Enumerations  are  frequent  in  the  writings  of  the  two  men.  In 
Flaubert  their  more  usual  form  is  that  of  a  piling  up  of  different 
details  in  an  effort  after  completeness.  A  good  example  is  furnished 
by  the  account  of  the  precious  stones  in  the  caverns  of  Hannibal, 
where  an  attempt  is  made  not  only  to  mention  as  many  different  kinds 
of  gems  as  possible  but  also  to  differentiate  them  according  to  origin 
and  the  nature  of  the  reflection  they  cast.*^  In  Maupassant  generally 
and  occasionally  in  Flaubert  enumerations  consist  of  a  bringing 
together  of  similar  details  in  order  to  give  prominence  to  some  par- 
ticular point.*®  The  effect  resulting  from  the  former  type  of 
enumeration  tends  to  be  that  of  vagueness ;  from  the  latter,  that  of 
emphasis.  Instances  are  the  naming  of  many  animals  in  La  Legende 
de  Saint  Julien  VHospitalier,'^''  in  order  to  portray  the  orgy  of 
slaughter  in  which  Julien  indulges,  and  the  noting  of  the  multitu- 
dinous flowers  and  insects  in  the  thicket  visited  by  Jeanne  and  Julien, 
in  order  to  produce  the  impression  of  heat  and  swarming  life.*® 

When  an  author  restricts  himself  in  explanation  or  description  to 
those  things  alone  which  may  be  perceived  by  the  senses,  it  seems 

8»For  example,  Sal,  p.  34;  L.V.E.,  p.  147;  S.l'E.,  p.  103;  etc. 

*o  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  288-89;  L.p.R.:  Sauvee,  p.  175. 

*i  For  example,  Sal,  p.  176 ;  M.  Par.,  p.  58. 

42  M.B.,  p.  2.  «  (7.^,^  pp.  14.15. 

**M.B.,  p.  150,  "leurs  pattes  roses  et  leurs  ailes  blanches";  B.d.S.,  p.  71. 
"une  armee  de  pigeons  blancs,  . . .  ,  avec  un  oeil  rose  (tache,  au  milieu,  d'un 
point  noir) ." 

*5  Sal,  p.  176. 

«  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  3,  10,  36;  Sal,  p.  176;  U£dS.,  pp.  47-48,  51 ;  T.C.: 
L.L.dSJ.VH.,  p.  91;  U.V.,  pp.  50-51;  B.-A.,  pp.  56,  106,  136;  etc. 

*7  Page  91.  48  U.V.,  pp.  50-51. 


LIKENESS  IN  GENERAL  REALISTIC  DEVICES  45 

inevitable  that  he  should  have  to  explain  or  describe  through  sugges- 
tion the  many  things  which  lie  beyond  the  domain  of  the  senses,  but 
which  he  cannot  help  introducing  because  they  are  inseparable  from 
life.  Hence  the  large  use  of  symbolic  expression  in  Flaubert  and 
Maupassant  as  in  other  realistic  writers.  Hence  also,  resulting  per- 
haps in  part  from  the  implications  of  such  expression,  a  certain  con- 
fusing of  the  departments  of  life,  men  being  represented  as  animals, 
animals  and  things^«fiJmmajn^^Such  representation  is  common  in  the 
two  authors  under  consideration. 

Of  pure  symbolism  there  are  examples  on  almost  every  page  of 
the  works  ot  born.  In  Flaubert  we  have,  for  instance,  Emma 
Bovary's  wedding  bouquet  as  the  symbol  of  her  early  hopes  and 
their  disappointment,  or  the  "zaimph"  as  the  symbol  of  the  power  of 
Carthage.*®  In  Maupassant's  Bel-Ami  the  train  is  the  symbol  of 
Duroy's  progress.^''  Or  the  symbolical  thing  may  be  an  act  or  an 
event,  as  where  the  horse  of  Charles  shies  on  being  turned  for  the 
first  time  into  the  yard  of  the  Bertaux  farm,  or  where  the  rain  at  the 
beginning  of  Une  Vie  forms  the  first  great  sorrow  of  Jeanne's  exis- 
tence and  suggests  what  is  to  come.^^  In  one  of  Maupassant's  short 
stories  the  song  of  a  nightingale  symbolizes  the  passages  in  a  love 
affair  taking  place  within  sound  of  the  song.^^  Sometimes  one  of  the 
personages  is  made  symbolical.  Thus  the  old  servant  of  the  "Comices 
agricoles"  embodies  the  servitude  of  the  peasant  woman,  and  the 
dumb  shepherd  Gargan  in  Les  Becasses,  who  is  always  knitting,  rep- 
resents the  unchangingness  of  peasant  life  and  of  the  place  where  he 
lives.^^  There  may  be  a  certain  symbolism  in  names,  as  where 
Felicite  of  Un  Coeur  simple  suggests  both  the  peasant  woman's  fatal- 
istic acquiescence  in  circumstances  and,  by  contrast,  the  real  misery 
of  her  lot;  or  where  "Bel- Ami"  calls  to  mind  both  the  impression 
which  Duroy  makes  upon  others  and,  by  contrast,  the  real  character 
of  the  man. 

In  both  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  psychology  is  often — not 
always^* — indicated  indirectly  through  the  expression  of  a  sentiment 

^^  M.B.,  p.  94;  Sal,  for  example,  pp.  99,  108-10,  232,  etc. 

^^B.'A.,  for  example,  pp.  53,  59,  107,  136,  etc. 

"M.5.,  p.  17;  C/.F.,p.  5. 

^^  L.M.T.:  Une  Partie  de  campagne,  pp.  108  ff. 

53  M.B.,  pp.  208-9;  M'  -Po^v  PP-  201-16. 

"  For  example,  T.C.:  U£.S.,  pp.  23-26,  etc. ;  L.P.R.,  pp.  48  if. 


\ 


46  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

by  means  of  the  corresponding  sensation.**'  Emma,  for  example, 
after  Leon's  departure  remains  *'dans  un  froid  horrible  qui  la  traver- 
sait/'^^  Jeanne,  on  the  day  of  her  wedding,  has  ''ttne  grande  sefisation 
de  vide  en  tout  son  corps."^"^  Gesture,  action,  conversation,  appear- 
ance, attitude,  or  attendant  circumstance  may  furnish  the  key  to  the 
psychology  of  a  character.  The  little  Hannibal,  asleep,  extends  his 
small  arm  "dans  une  attitude  imperative."^*  In  La  Roche  aux  guille- 
mots the  last  arrival  sits  down  at  table,  "se  frottant  les  mains."'''* 
Emma  dies  with  a  horrible  laugh.®**  Georges  Duroy,  as  he  walks 
along  the  sidewalk,  shoulders  the  people  he  passes  out  of  his  way.®^ 
Peasant  remarks  are,  as  one  would  expect,  characterized  by  naivete 
in  both  authors.®-  The  uprightness  of  Madame  Arnoux'  mind  seems 
to  correspond  to  the  regularity  of  her  features,®^  the  narrowness  of 
Miss  Harriet's  life  to  the  meagreness  of  her  frame.®*  Such  char- 
acterization by  means  of  external  manifestation  may  seem  to  be 
wholly  inadequate;  yet  it  has  been  said  of  Maupassant,  and  it 
might  be  said  of  Flaubert,  that  he  has  probably  all  the  psychology 
necessary  for  the  persons  he  depicts.®^  Conversely  the  following 
remark  made  regarding  Flaubert  may  be  applied  likewise  to  Mau- 
passant, that  he  sometimes  represents  a  sentiment  by  means  of  a  land- 
scape, or  part  of  a  landscape,  or  through  a  figure  from  nature.®® 
Changes  in  the  feelings  of  characters  accompany  changes  in  the 
seasons  or  the  weather.®^  Both  men  express  more  than  once  the 
feeling  of  peacefulness  and  satisfaction  experienced  on  a  beautiful 
moonlight  night.®*  Emma's  impatience  and  boredom  are  embodied 
in  the  monotony  of  the  segue  upon  which  she  gazes.  ~ 

"^^f.  Brunetiere,  Le  Roman  naturalist e,  pp.  168-71. 
58  M.B.,  p.  173.  ^^  C.dJ.e.dlN.,  p.  213. 

57  C/.F.,  p.  75-  ^^  M.B.,  p.  449- 

58  Sal.,  p.  339.  ®'  B.-A.,  pp.  2,  7. 

«2For    example,    M.B.,    pp.    27-28,    209,    etc.;    dialogue    in    Le    Vieux: 
C.d.J.e.d.l.N.,  pp.  91-104. 

«3  L'£d.S.,  pp.  6,  65,  120-22,  etc. 

8*  M.Har.,  pp.  1-36. 

65Lemaitre,  Les  Contemporains   (edition  of  1887),  I,  307. 

««  Cf.  Brunetiere,  L.R.N. ,  pp.  174  ff. 

67  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  87,  481;  Sal,  p.  353;  U.V.,  pp.  368-69;  C.d.L., 
pp.  8-12. 

68  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  274-75;  Sal,  pp.  55-56;  U.V.,  pp.  70-71,  7^',  C.d.L., 
pp.  8  if. 


LIKENESS  IN  GENERAL  REALISTIC  DEVICES  47 

Elle  commenqait  par  regarder  tout  alentour,  pour  voir  si  rien  n'avait 
change  depuis  la  derniere  fois  qu'elle  etait  venue.  Elle  retrouvait  aux 
inemes  places  les  digitales  et  les  ravenelles,  les  bouquets  d'orties  entourant 
les  gros  cailloux,  et  les  plaques  de  lichen  le  long  des  trois  fenetres,  dont 
les  volets  toujours  clos  s'egrenaient  de  pourriture,  sur  leurs  barres  de  fer 
rouilles.®^ 

Jeanne's  sadness  on  her  return  from  Corsica  is  typified  by  the 
mournful  autumn  landscape.  "...  apres  avoir  regarde  quelque 
temps  le  ciel  ou  roulaient  des  nuages  somhres,  elle  se  decida  a  sortir." 
Was  it  the  same  country  as  in  May?  Where  were  "la  gaiete  enso- 
leillee  des  f  euilles,  et  la  poesie  verte  du  gazon"  ?  "Et  cette  griserie  de 
Vair  charge  de  vie,  d'aromes,  d'atomes  fecondants  n'existait  plus." 
The  shivering  poplars  sent  down  a  sorrowful  and  incessant  rain  of 
yellow  leaves.  The  shrubbery  was  as  lamentable  as  a  death  chamber, 
deprived  as  it  was  of  its  greenness;  "et  le  murmure  des  f euilles 
tombees  et  seches  que  la  brise  poussait,  remuait,  amoncelait  en  tas 
par  endroits,  semblait  un  douloureux  soupir  d'agonie."''^  The  follow- 
ing are  examples  of  figures  expressing  sentiments. 

Les  bonheurs  futurs,  comme  les  rivages  des  tropiques,  projettent  sur 
rimmensite  qui  les  precede  leurs  mollesses  natales,  une  brise  parfumee,  et 
Ton  s'assoupit  dans  cet  enivrement,  sans  meme  s'inquieter  de  I'horizon  que 
I'on  n'aperqoit  pas.^^ 

Elle  se  sentait  enfoncee  dans  un  trou  aux  bords  inaccessibles,  dont  elle 
ne  pourrait  jamais  sortir,  et  toutes  sortes  de  malheurs  restaient  suspendus 
sur  sa  tete  comme  des  gros  rochers  qui  tomberaient  a  la  premiere 
occasion. '^2 

Many  other  examples  of  the  same  kind  of  thing  might  be  given. 

A  type  of  figurative  expression  in  both  Flaubert  and  Maupassant, 
particularly  frequent  in  the  latter,  usually  found  in  the  form  of  a 
comparison  in  the  former,  is  that  of  reference  to  man  as  "la  bete 
humaine,"  or  even,  in  further  depreciation,  as  "I'insecte  humain."^' 
Maupassant  also  in  one  passage  exposes  the  theory  that  every  man  is 
like  some  animal.*^^    Many  different  animals  are  used  for  purposes  of 

69  M.B.,  p.  61.  71  M.B.,  p.  132. 

TOC/.F.,  pp.  118-19.  ^^LM.T.:    L'h.d'u.f.d.f.,  p.  83. 

73  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  209,  256  (comparison  to  animal)  ;  Sal,  pp.  70,  221. 
etc.;  L.M.T.:  En  F.,  p.  179;  M.Har.:  En  V.,  p.  295;  S.  I'E.,  pp.  38  ff.,  etc.; 
Mile  F.:  R.d.MAW.,  p.  284.    Cf.  the  practice  of  Balzac,  Zola,  etc. 

'^^LS.R.,'g,  II. 


48  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

comparison."  Sometimes  a  comparison  is  repeated;  for  example, 
the  thought  of  the  mercenaries  as  being  like  lions  occurs  more  than 
once  in  Salammho,''^  while  certain  types  of  women  are  described  by 
Maupassant  as  resembling  hens.'^'^ 

Closely  allied  to  the  picturing  of  man  as  af'bete''  is  the  depicting 
of  animals  as  human.  This  is  much  more  common  in  Flaubert, 
somewhat  less  common  in  Maupassant,  than  the  previous  comparison. 
In  both  authors  the  representation  is  accomplished  through  the  attri- 
bution of  actions  which  could  be  performed  only  by  a  reasoning  being. 
The  monkey  in  the  Temple  of  Tanit  in  Salammbo  seems  to  protest 
against  the  profanation  of  the  temple  f^  the  old  dog  in  La  Peur  acts 
as  if  possessed  by  the  same  terror  as  his  human  companions.'^  This 
is  especially  true  in  the  cases  which  have  to  do  with  the  ill-treatment 
of  animals.  Examples  are  the  mutilated  elephants  in  Salammbo  and 
the  poor  old  horse  "Coco"  in  the  story  of  that  name.*° 

Things  also  are  constantly  personified  by  both  Flaubert  and  Mau- 
passant. For  example,  the  "Hirondelle"  in  Madame  Bovary  and 
the  "zaimph"  in  Salammbo  give  the  impression  of  being  alive.®^  Thus 
also  do  the  pendulum  of  Jeanne's  clock  in  Une  Vie  and  Bernard's 
little  boat,  which  founders  in  Sur  VEau,  and  for  which  he  grieves  as 
for  a  friend.®^ 

In  description  there  are  many  similarities  between  the  two  authors 
in  method  of  describing  and  in  things  described.  Both  use  sometimes 
"massed,"  sometimes  "scattered"  description.  The  best  example  of 
the  latter  type  is  perhaps  Madame  Bovary,  which  exhibits  also,  for 
instance  with  regard  to  the  personal  appearance  of  the  chief  person- 
age, the  fault  which  is  likely  to  result  from  this  method — vagueness 
of  general  impression,  with  occasional  discrepancy.^*     "Scattered" 

7«  For  example,  Sal,  pp.  3,  18,  221 ;  B.-A.,  pp.  63,  109,  112;  M.Par.:  La  C, 
pp.  127,  128,  etc. 

78  Pages  3,  34-35,  107,  387. 

77  U.V.,  p.  62;  L.M.T.,  p.  16;  MJPar.:    Tribunaux  rustiques,  p.  179. 

''^Sal,  p.  loi.  79  c.dlBec,  pp.  81-84. 

»^Sal.,  p.  186;  C.dJ.e.d.l.N.,  pp.  146-56. 

81  M.B.,  pp.  107,  305,  363,  etc. ;  Sal,  pp.  99,  108,  109-10,  etc. 

82  U,V.,  pp.  55,  123,  etc. ;  S.  VE.,  pp.  166-67. 

83  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  19,  "Ce  qu'elle  avait  de  beau,  c'etaient  les  yeux  ; 
quoiqu'ils  fussent  hruns,  its  semblaient  noirs  a  cause  des  cils,  ..."  Cf .  p.  45, 
where  it  is  said  of  the  same  eyes  that  they  are  "noirs  a  I'ombre  et  bleu  fonce 
au  grand  jour." 


LIKENESS  IN  GENERAL  REALISTIC  DEVICES  49 

description  is  less  suitable  for  short  stories  than  for  novels,  inasmuch 
as  it  needs  greater  space  for  its  development  than  is  afforded  by  the 
few  pages  of  a  conte.  It  is  therefore  employed  less  by  Maupassant 
than  by  Flaubert,  and  where  it  is  used  is  of  a  rather  different  kind. 
Instead  of  giving  certain  details  to  which  certain  other  details  will  be 
added  in  a  subsequent  passage,  Maupassant's  plan  is  rather  to  furnish 
at  once  sufficient  to  form  a  complete  picture  of  the  person,  place,  or 
thing  to  be  described ;  then,  if  he  returns  to  the  description,  it  is  either 
in  order  to  emphasize  further  some  detail  already  mentioned  or  to 
record  the  changes  produced  by  circumstances.  Examples  can  be 
found  in  any  of  his  novels.  In  Flaubert's  Trois  Contes  and  in  Mau- 
passant's short  stories  "massed"  description  is  the  rule.  It  is,  of 
course,  found  also  in  the  novels,  where  many  things  are  described 
only  once.  Here  again  Flaubert  sometimes  tends  to  vagueness 
through  the  employment  of  a  multitude  of  details  without  any  suffi- 
ciently outstanding  single  detail.^*  It  is  possible  that  Maupassant  may 
have  been  influenced  in  the  direction  of  clearness  by  seeing  the  super- 
fluity of  detail  in  certain  passages  of  his  master's  works.  Certain  it 
is  that  his  own  pictures  are  rendered  singularly  clear,  vivid,  and 
complete  in  very  few  words.  He  makes  one  of  his  characters  express 
his  formula  thus : 

Avec  un  paysage  brosse  en  quelques  lignes  et  une  petite  histoire  dite 
en  quelques  phrases,  on  peut  donner,  croyez-vous,  le  vrai  caractere  d'un 
pays,  le  faire  vivant,  visible,  dramatique.®^ 

In  his  later  work,  as  in  Un  Coeur  simple,  Flaubert  approximates 
to  Maupassant's  simplicity.  Take,  for  example,  the  following  de- 
scription of  Felicite's  personal  appearance,  the  only  one  in  the  story : 

Son  visage  etait  maigre  et  sa  voix  aigue.  A  vingt-cinq  ans,  on  lui  en 
donnait  quarante.  Des  la  cinquantaine,  elle  ne  marqua  plus  aucun  age ; — 
et,  toujours  silencieuse,  la  taille  droite  et  les  gestes  mesures,  semblait  une 
femme  en  bois,  fonctionnant  d'une  maniere  automatique.^^ 

Everything  in  this  passage  leads  up  to  the  keynote  of  the  descrip- 
tion which  is  expressed  in  the  words  italicized.  The  use  of  such  a 
"keynote"  is  a  frequent  device  for  the  imparting  of  unity  to  a  picture. 
For  instance,  the  thought  of  the  cathedral  as  a  setting  for  Emma's 
attractiveness  gives  that  building  a  certain  aspect  in  the  eyes  of  Leon. 

8*  For  example,  Charles  Bovary's  cap,  M.B.,  pp.  2-3. 

85  C.d.L.:  En  V.,  p.  243.  ««  T.C.:   U.C.S.,  pp.  5-6. 


50  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

L'eglise,  comme  un  boudoir  gigantesque,  se  disposait  autour  d'elle ;  les 
voutes  s'inclinaient  pour  recueillir  dans  Tombre  la  confession  de  son 
amour:  les  vitraux  resplendissaient  pour  illuminer  son  visage,  et  les 
encensoirs  allaient  bruler  pour  qu'elle  apparut  comme  un  ange,  dans  la 
fumee  des  parfums.®^ 

To  take  now  an  example  from  Maupassant — the  lifelessness  of  the 
winter  season  is  the  main  motif  in  the  following  passage  from 
Une  Vie: 

Les  fermes,  isolees  dans  leurs  cours  carrees,  derriere  leurs  rideaux  de 
grands  arbres  poudres  de  frimas,  semblaient  endormies  en  leur  chemise 
blanche.  Ni  hommes  ni  betes  ne  sortaient  plus ;  seules  les  cheminees  des 
chaumieres  revelaient  la  vie  cachee  par  les  minces  filets  de  fumee  qui 
montaient  droit  dans  I'air  glacial. 

La  plaine,  les  haies,  les  ormes  des  clotures,  tout  semblait  mort,  tue  par 
le  froid.  De  temps  en  temps,  on  entendait  craquer  les  arbres,  comme  si 
leurs  membres  de  bois  se  fussent  brises  sous  I'ecorce ;  et  parfois  une  grosse 
branche  se  detachait  et  tombait,  I'invincible  gelee  petrifiant  la  seve  et 
rompant  les  fibres.*® 

It  has  been  generally  allowed  that  description  preponderates  over 
narration  in  Flaubert.  This  is  true  of  his  earlier  novels,  which  may 
be  said  to  proceed  often  by  a  series  of  descriptions.*^  In  some  of  his 
later  works,  however,  the  style  is  rather  narrative  than  descriptive  ; 
for  example,  in  Un  Coeur  simple  and  Bouvard  et  Peciichet.  It  is 
here  that  Flaubert  connects  most  closely  with  Maupassant,  whose 
general  manner  is  narrative.  This  we  should  expect  from  a  man  the 
greater  part  of  whose  work  consists  of  short  stories.  Maupassant 
more  or  less  carries  the  method  of  his  short  stories  into  his  novels. 
Of  both  men  it  is  true  that  they  avoid  for  the  most  part  long, 
unbroken  descriptive  passages  and  introduce  details  of  description 
as  required.  Descriptions  are  very  frequently  generalized  by  both 
through  reproduction  of  the  permanent  features  in  a  picture.  Thus, 
in  the  account  of  the  sun's  rising  over  Carthage,  Flaubert,  while 
keeping  his  representation  sufficiently  distinctive,  yet  seizes  upon 
those  attributes  which  might  be  predicated  of  any  similar  sunrise.®^ 
Thus  also  in  like  scenes  of  Maupassant's.®^  Among  the  most  striking 
examples  of  this  generalization  are  the  pictures  given  by  both  authors 

87  M.B.,  p.  331.  89  Cf.  Brunetiere,  L.R.N.,  pp.  179,  etc. 

88  Page  158.  »o  Sal.,  p.  21. 
91  For  example,  U.V.,  pp.  22,  96,  245. 


LIKENESS  IN  GENERAL  REALISTIC  DEVICES  $1 

of  calm  and  beautiful  moonlight  nights,  in  which  there  is  conveyed 
the  very  charm  of  peace  and  limpid  light  which  we  have  all  expe- 
rienced, which  has  been  known  presumably  since  the  beginning  of 
time,  and  which  will  continue  supposedly  to  be  known  until  the  end.^^ 
The  same  tendency  to  generalization  is  observable  in  character  de- 
scription. Both  men  depict,  for  example,  the  eternal  peasant  and, 
to  a  certain  limited  extent,  the  "eternal  feminine."  This  tendency 
to  generalize  seems,  at  first  suggestion,  to  contradict  the  theory  of  the 
"characteristic  detail."  On  second  thought,  however,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  two  are  not  incompatible.  A  scene  or  a  person  to  be  recog- 
nizable must  possess,  on  the  whole,  attributes  that  come  within  the 
range  of  our  knowledge;  when  such  attributes  have  once  been 
grasped,  we  look  for  the  distinctive  trait  which  marks  off  that  scene 
or  person  from  others.  A  moonlight  night  is  a  moonlight  night, 
whether  in  Carthage  or  at  "les  Peuples" ;  but  in  the  one  instance  the 
light  falls  upon  "un  collier  d'or  a  la  poitrine  d'un  dieu"  f^  in  the  other 
it  illuminates  "le  tilleul  et  le  platane."^*  Hannibal  and  Andermatt  are 
both  "men  of  affairs ;"  but  the  one  hoards  his  wealth  in  Carthaginian 
cellars,  while  the  other  utilizes  his  in  modern  speculation.®^ 

Description  is  accomplished  very  frequently  in  both  authors 
through  the  eyes  of  one  or  more  of  the  characters,  either  moving  or 
standing  still.*®  If  the  character  is  moving  we  have  described  what 
he  sees  as  he  advances;  if  he  is  standing  still  the  recital  is  of  what 
lies  or  passes  before  him.  Sometimes  here  Flaubert's  efforts  after 
completeness  may  lead  him  into  discrepancy:  he  may  record  more 
than  anyone  could  possibly  see  in  a  transient  glance,  as  where  Emma 
is  made  to  read  the  long  descriptions  on  the  pictures  observed  by  her 
as  she  traverses  the  billiard-room  at  "La  Vaubyessard."®'^  Maupas- 
sant appears  to  avoid  this  kind  of  mistake,  perhaps  through  noticing 
its  effect  in  his  master's  work.**  On  the  whole,  however,  description 
through  the  eyes  of  a  personage  is  consistent  in  both  writers  ;  that  is, 
no  more  is  reported  than  would  be  actually  seen  by  the  particular 

92  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  274-75;  Sal.,  pp.  55-56;  U.V.,  pp.  16-19,  70-71, 
237 ;  C.d.L.,  pp.  8-9.     See  above,  p.  46. 

93  5a/.,  p.  55-  9<t/.F.,  p.  71. 
^^Sal,  pp.  166  ff.;  M.-O.,  p.  11,  etc. 

9«For  example,  Sal,  pp.  92  ff.;  L'Ed.S.,  pp.  6-7;  N.C.,  pp.  116-17;  U.V., 
pp.  23  ff. 

97  M.B.,  p.  66.  98  See  above,  p.  49. 


52  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

character  or  characters  under  the  specific  circumstances.  For  in- 
stance, the  first  picture  of  Mme  Arnoux  is  as  follows.  Frederic  is 
looking  at  her  from  a  little  distance. 

Elle  avait  un  large  chapeau  de  paille,  avec  des  rubans  roses  qui  pal- 
pitaient  au  vent,  derriere  elle.  Ses  bandeaux  noirs,  contournant  la  pointe 
de  ses  grands  sourcils,  descendaient  tres  bas  et  semblaient  presser  amou- 
reusement  I'ovale  de  sa  figure.  Sa  robe  de  mousseline  claire,  tachetee  de 
petits  pois,  se  repandait  a  plis  nombreux.  Elle  etait  en  train  de  broder 
quelque  chose ;  et  son  nez  droit,  son  menton,  toute  sa  personne  se  decoupait 
sur  le  fond  de  I'air  bleu.®» 

It  will  be  noticed  that,  owing  to  where  Frederic  was  standing  and  to 
the  position  in  which  Mme  Arnoux  was  sitting  with  her  embroidery, 
her  large  hat  would  conceal  her  eyes  and  the  upper  part  of  her  face ; 
they  are,  therefore,  not  described.  Her  gown,  being  ample,  would 
hide  her  feet;  accordingly  no  mention  is  made  of  these.^^®  The 
description  is  otherwise  comprehensive,  as  Frederic's  eager  eye  would 
take  in  all  he  could  see.  An  example  of  the  same  kind  of  thing  in 
Maupassant  is  to  be  found  at  the  end  of  Bel- Ami.  Du  Roy  is  leaving 
the  church  after  his  marriage ;  he  does  not  see  the  crowd  there,  for  he 
is  thinking  only  of  himself.  Then  it  strikes  him  that  the  throng  is  a 
tribute  to  himself ;  at  once  he  notices  the  concourse !  "Lorsqu'il 
parvint  sur  le  seuil,  il  apergut  la  f  oule  amassee,  une  f  oule  noire,  bruis- 
sante,  venue  la  pour  lui,  pour  lui,  Georges  Du  Roy.  Le  peuple  de 
Paris  le  contemplait  et  Tenviait."  He  imagines  future  triumphs. 
"Puis,  relevant  les  yeux,  il  decouvrit  la-bas,  derriere  la  place  de  la 
Concorde,  la  Chambre  des  deputes.  Et  il  lui  sembla  qu'il  allait  faire 
un  bond  du  portique  de  la  Madeleine  au  portique  du  Palais-Bour- 
l^^jj  "loi  Thus  what  is  seen  is  often  an  indication  of  the  character  or 
condition  of  the  one  who  sees.  For  example,  monotony  is  sometimes 
indicated  through  noting  the  passing  and  repassing  of  the  same  people 
across  an  unchanging  scene.^^^  Description  through  the  eyes  of  a 
personage  is  closely  connected  with  a  device  already  mentioned,^^^ 

^^L'£dS.,  p.  6. 

i<*<>  However,  on  p.  12,  in  his  remembrance  of  how  she  looked,  he  recalls 
the  appearance  of  her  feet.  Probably  he  noticed  them,  not  at  the  first  glance, 
but  as  he  considered  her  afterwards. 

i«iB.-^.,  pp.  572-7 3- 

102  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  89-90;  U.V.,  pp.  344-45- 

103  See  above,  pp.  48-49,  50. 


LIKENESS  IN  GENERAL  REALISTIC  DEVICES  53 

that  of  bringing  in  a  description  where  it  will  be  of  greatest  signifi- 
cance. This  is  not  necessarily  where  the  person,  place,  or  thing  to  be 
described  is  first  spoken  of,  although  often  so,  especially  in  Maupas- 
sant.^<^* 

A  very  common  device  is  description  in  a  ray,  or  in  the  rays,  of  a 
natural  or  an  artificial  light.^*'^  Sometimes  the  person  or  thing  is  out- 
lined against  the  light.^°®  Sometimes  objects  in  a  scene  are  distin- 
guished through  their  glittering  when  the  light  catches  them  ;^*^^  some- 
times they  stand  out,  as  the  light  strikes  them,  against  other  parts  of 
the  scene  left  in  shadow  or  in  dim  light.^^*  The  effect  of  faint  light 
and  of  shadows  caused  by  light  is  also  described.^"^  At  times  the 
object  is  represented  as  changed  in  appearance  by  the  nature  of  the 
light/^^  Sometimes  the  reflection  of  a  light  in  bright  objects  is  pic- 
tured,^^^  or  little  lights  appear  in  darkness.^^^  Natural  light  is  occa- 
sionally contrasted  with  artificial.^^^ 

Just  as  description  of  the  external  appearance  of  persons,  places, 
and  things  is  achieved  through  the  eyes  of  spectators,  so  characteriza- 
tion is  accomplished  in  both  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  partly  through 
a  retailing  of  the  effect  produced  on  others  by  the  character  in  ques- 
tion. Much  of  what  we  know  of  Mme  Bovary,  of  Mme  Arnoux,  of 
Mme  Andermatt,  or  of  Mme  de  Burne  comes  to  us  through  what 
others  think  or  say  of  them.^^*    The  same  is  true  of  many  other 

i<>*  For  example,  the  eyes  of  Mme  Arnoux  are  not  described  until  p.  192,  al- 
though mentioned  many  times  before  that.  Her  other  features  are  described 
when  first  we  see  her,  on  p.  6.  This  is  perhaps  to  emphasize  Frederic's  timidity 
in  approaching  her  (UBd.S.).  In  Une  Vie,  Julien  is  described  fully  when  we 
first  see  him,  because  his  appearance  is  important  for  the  story. 

105  For  example,  Sal,  p.  160;  M.B.,  pp.  188-89;  F.c.lM.,  pp.  96-97;  L.P.R.: 
Mile  Perle,  p.  129;  cf.  Brunetiere,  L.R.N.,  pp.  167-68. 

io«For  example,  L'£,d.S.,  p.  6;  U.V.,  p.  72. 

107  For  example,  Sal,  p.  199 ;  M.-O.,  p.  98. 

108  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  66;  U.V.,  p.  236. 

109  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  16;  Sal,  p.  55;  L'LB.:  Le  C.  d'O.,  p.  93;  U.V., 
pp.  210-11. 

110  For  example,  T.C.:   L.L.d.SJ.VH.,  p.  112;  F.c.lM.,  p.  82. 

111  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  18;  B.-A.,  p.  128. 

112  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  7z;  U.V.,  p.  11. 

118  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  331;  C.d.L.:   La  Nuit,  p.  222. 
114  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  23-24,  31,  32,  54,  58,  59,  etc. ;  L'Rd.S.,  pp.  54,  68, 
98,  etc. ;  M.-O.,  pp.  129-30,  etc. ;  N.C.,  pp.  i,  33-35,  53-6o,  etc. 


54  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

characters.  The  information  is  conveyed  in  dialogue  or  monologue, 
direct  or  indirect,  or  in  narrative.  For  example,  Emma  is  discussed 
by  the  first  wife  of  Charles  and  by  his  mother,  by  Lheureux,  by 
Homais,  by  the  busybodies  of  Yonville ;  and  we  have  related  to  us 
at  length  the  thoughts  of  Charles,  of  Leon,  of  Rodolphe,  regarding 
her.  In  the  same  way  Mme  de  Burne  forms  a  constant  subject  of 
conversation  and  of  thought  for  her  circle,  especially  for  MarioUe.^^'^ 

In  the  two  authors  under  discussion  the  reader  is  struck  by  the 
very  large  use  made  of  contrast,  its  presence  being  almost  universal. 
The  types  of  contrast  are  numerous.  One  frequent  form  is  that 
of  the  opposition  between  character  and  surroundings.  For  instance, 
the  daintiness  of  Mme  Arnoux  stands  out  against  her  sordid  environ- 
ment on  the  deck  of  the  steamer  where  we  first  see  her ;  or,  to  take 
an  example  from  Maupassant,  the  innocence  of  the  girl  Yvette  is 
markedly  in  contrast  with  the  milieu  in  which  she  lives.^^®  The 
contrasts  of  sound  and  silence,  of  light  and  shadow,  of  natural  and 
artificial  light,  of  colors,  have  already  been  mentioned.^^^  Other 
contrasts  are  those  between  appearance  and  actuality,  between  nature 
and  man,  between  poverty  and  riches,  etc.^^® 

In  discussing  description  something  has  already  been  said  of 
narration,  which  it  will  be  unnecessary  to  repeat.^^^  This  paragraph 
will  take  up  some  additional  points.  Maupassant,  it  has  been 
shown,^^"  has  relatively  more  narration  in  his  works  than  Flaubert. 
With  regard  to  plots  one  will  notice  that  these  are  simple  in  the 
works  of  the  two  men,  as  one  can  summarize  in  few  words  the  actual 
plot  interest  in  any  of  the  novels  or  short  stories.  For  instance,  in 
Un  Coeur  simple  and  Une  Vie,  which  are  much  alike,  the  whole 
plot  has  to  do  with  the  repeated  disappointments  which  thwart  the 
natural  affections  of  the  heroine.  The  slim  plot  interest  in  the 
novels  is  amplified  by  means  of  episodes  and  descriptions.  Some 
works,  such  as  U Education  sentimentale  and  Bel-Ami,  produce  the 
effect  of  a  succession  of  episodes,  even  of  similar  episodes,  a 
varying  measure  of  unity  being  secured  through  the  greater  or  less 
preponderance  of  some  character,  situation,  or  idea.     In  Bouvard 

"5  See  note  114.  ^^^  L'£dS.,  pp.  5-6;  Yvette. 

117  See  above,  pp.  43,  53,  44. 

118  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  149,  403-4,  72;  O.P.I. :    La  Veillee,  pp.  55-60; 
U.V.,  p.  245;  C.d.J.e.d.l.N.:  La  Parure,  pp.  59-74. 

"»  See  above,  p.  50.  120  See  above,  p.  50. 


LIKENESS  IN  GENERAL  REALISTIC  DEVICES  55 

et  PScuchet  this  piling  up  is  used  to  depict  the  "betise"  of  the  two 
men ;  in  Salammho  it  is  employed  to  emphasize  the  splendors  or  the 
cruelties  of  ancient  life ;  in  Madame  B ovary  it  serves  to  bring  out 
the  progressive  disillusionment  of  the  heroine.  Thus  also  in  Mau- 
passant episode  after  episode  impresses  upon  us  the  ruthless  advance 
of  "Bel-Ami"  to  social  and  political  prominence,  the  infatuation  of 
Mariolle  for  Mme  de  Burne,  or  the  perplexity  of  Olivier  Bertin 
caught  between  the  attraction  of  the  daughter  and  the  desire  to  be 
faithful  in  devotion  to  the  mother.^^^  Each  of  Flaubert's  three  short 
stories  possesses  a  number  of  episodes  and  is,  in  fact,  rather  an 
abbreviated  novel  than  an  ordinary  "short  story."  Maupassant's 
contes,  with  sometimes  but  a  single  episode,  exhibit  more  clearly, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  power  to  seize  and  perpetuate  just  the  points 
essential  for  the  making  of  good  stories.  Maupassant's  relatively 
much  greater  simplicity  and  clearness  are  no  more  apparent  in 
description  than  in  narration,  where  again  Flaubert's  excessive  atten- 
tion to  realistic  detail  tends  to  vagueness  and  occasionally  to  dis- 
crepancy.^^^  Some  narrative  passages  in  both  authors  outline  the 
course  of  a  character's  thoughts  ^^^  rather  than  any  succession  of 
events,  and  produce  a  semi-descriptive  impression.  The  same  effect 
is  accomplished  by  the  many  paragraphs  in  the  imperfect  tense 
narrating  habitual  action,^^*  and  by  the  general  tendency  to  use  that 
tense  in  passages  where  one  might  possibly  expect  the  preterite.^^^ 
A  device  that  is  employed  by  both  authors  is  the  immobilizing  of  a 
character  in  a  well-defined  situation  in  order  to  tell  us  something 
regarding  that  character  through  the  medium  of  the  thoughts  sup- 
posed to  be  passing  within  his  mind  at  the  time.^^®  Thus  Emma 
Bovary's  reveries  after  her  marriage  and  arrival  at  Tostes;  thus 
Georges  Duroy's  musings  on  returning  to  his  shabby  room  after 
his  first  evening  at  the  Forestier's.^^^ 

'^^'^  Bel- Ami;  Notre  Coeur;  Fort  comme  la  Mort. 

122  For  example,  compare  difficulty  of  outlining  story  of  Salammho;  com- 
pare also  time  of  Charles'  journey  to  Rouen,  as  discussed  by  Ernest  Bovet  in 
an  article  on  "Le  Realisme  de  Flaubert,"  R.H.L.,  I  (1911),  1-36. 

123  For  example,  UM.S.,  p.  12 ;  P.eJ.,  pp.  62-64. 

124  For  example,  B.e.P.,  p.  33;  N.C.,  pp.  174-75. 

123  For  example,  U£dS.,  p.  377  (first  paragraph)  ;  U.V.,  pp.  61-62  (para- 
graph at  end  of  one  page  and  beginning  of  next). 
126  Cf.  Brunetiere,  L.R.N.,  pp.  174  ff. 
127JI/.5.,  pp.  48  ff.;  B.-A.,  pp.  57-58. 


56  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Dialogue  and  monologue,  both  direct  and  indirect,  are  used  by 
Flaubert  and  Maupassant  to  characterize,  to  describe,  and  to  nar- 
rate,^^®  never  to  mark  time.  There  is  much  more  of  both  dialogue 
and  monologue  in  the  latter  author  than  in  the  former.  In  fact, 
some  of  Maupassant's  short  stories  are  told  almost  entirely  in  dia- 
logue or  in  monologue.^^^  Both  authors  seem  to  possess  the  power 
of  making  their  personages  say  exactly  the  right  thing.  Nothing, 
for  example,  could  be  more  apposite  than  their  peasant  conversa- 
tions.^^" In  this  Maupassant  is  assisted  by  his  free  use  of  dialect 
and  other  special  forms  of  speech,  which  are  found  much  more 
rarely  in  Flaubert.^^^  Sometimes  striking  remarks,  usually  short, 
give  the  key  to  characters  or  situations.  Examples  are  Charles 
Bovary's  "C'est  la  faute  de  la  fatalite !"  at  the  end  of  Madame  B ovary, 
and  the  old  beggar's  "J'soinmes  tons  egaux,  la  devant"  beside  the 
corpses  of  Gilberte  and  Julien  in  Une  Vie}^"^  There  is  occasionally 
in  Maupassant  a  suggestion  of  Flaubert's  famous  device  of  "alter- 
nating" dialogue,  with  its  attendant  effect  of  irony,  as  found  in  the 
account  of  the  "Comices  agricoles."^^^  For  example,  we  have  the 
conversation  at  the  table  d'hote  of  the  "Hotel  Splendide,"  or  For- 
estier's  speech  to  Duroy  punctuated  by  the  counting^  of  his  score  at 
billiards.^^*  Maupassant  is  much  less  careful  than  Flaubert  about 
using  introductory  verbs  of  saying,  and  occasionally  goes  so  far 
as  to  adopt  the  dramatic  device  of  inserting  merely  the  name  of  the 
speaker  at  the  beginning  of  the  speech.^^^ 

In  order  to  avoid  monotony  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  carry  all 
procedures  along  together;  there  is  constant  interchange  of  descrip- 
tion, narration,  and  dialogue,  two  of  the  three  or  all  three  being 
sometimes  combined  in  one  paragraph  or  even  in  one  sentence.^^® 

128  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  110-16,  85-88;  N.C.,  pp.  25  ff.,  274,  175-76. 

129  M. For.;  La  Bete  a  MaW  Belhomme;  C.dJ.e.d.l.N.:  La  Confession,  pp. 
277-85. 

^^^  MB.,  p.  209;  U.V.,  pp.  200-204. 

181  For  example,  any  of  Maupassant's  peasant  stories;  M.Har.:  L'Heri- 
tage;  B.e.P.,  p.  357;  Sal,  p.  57- 

132  M.B.,  p.  480;  U.V.,  p.  282.  133  M.B.,  pp.  197  ff. 

184JW.-0.,  pp.  55-78;  B.'A.,  pp.  80-81. 

135  For  example,  M.Par.:    Trihunaux  rustiques,  pp.  177-84. 

i8«For  example,  UEd.S.,  p.  451;  N.C.,  pp.  135-36;  B.e.P.,  p.  135  (second 
sentence  in  second  complete  paragraph)  ;  B.-A.  (second  paragraph,  first  sen- 
tence) ;  cf.  Brunetiere,  L.R.N.,  pp.  180-81. 


LIKENESS  IN  GENERAL  REALISTIC  DEVICES  57 

Descriptions  of  persons,  places,  and  things  are  constantly  inter- 
mingled. Description  of  places  or  things  is  often  combined  with 
an  account  of  a  character's  thoughts.^^^  A  short  sentence  of  dia- 
logue or  monologue,  or  a  brief  passage  of  dialogue,  is  not  seldom 
employed  to  break  a  long  description  or  narration.^^^  There  is 
frequent  interchange  of  the  direct  and  the  indirect  forms  of  dialogue 
and  monologue.^^*^  Many  paragraphs  not  of  dialogue  end  with  a 
short  spoken  sentence/'*^ 

In  paragraph  structure  there  is  some  likeness  between  the  works 
of  the  two  men.  The  combination  of  description,  narration,  and 
dialogue  in  a  single  paragraph  has  already  been  noted.^*^  The  aver- 
age length  of  the  paragraph  is,  taken  on  the  whole,  about  the  same 
in  the  two.  Flaubert  tends  more  in  his  earlier  works  toward  the 
unusually  long  paragraph,  Maupassant  more  in  his  later.^*^  Instances 
can  be  found  where  Maupassant  divides  among  several  paragraphs 
descriptions  which  Flaubert,  to  judge  from  similar  cases  in  the 
works  of  the  latter,  would  keep  within  one  paragraph.^*^  This  may 
be  part  of  Maupassant's  effort  after  greater  clearness,  which  was 
suggested  before.^**  Flaubert's  paragraphs  leave  in  general  the 
impression  of  greater  deliberate  artistic  unity  than  Maupassant's. 
The  latter  frequently  uses  the  sentence-paragraph,  a  habit  traceable 
probably  in  part  to  his  journalistic  experiences.^*^  Flaubert  also 
employs  this  form,  but  less  often  ;^*®  constantly,  however,  his 
longer  paragraphs  may  be  summarized  in  a  sentence,  sometimes  an 
antithetical  sentence.^*^  The  brief  narrative  paragraphs  of  the  two 
writers  are  much  alike  in  their  use  of  short,  abrupt  sentences  with 
the  historic  tense.     Several  examples  follow,  which  are  given  in 

^3^  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  61-62;  U.V.,  pp.  19  ff. 

^38For  example,  M.B.,  p.  355;  T.C.:    U.C.S.,  p.  26;  M.-O.,  pp.  133,  136. 

138  For  example,  L'£d.S.,  pp.  209-10;  B. -A.,  pp.  237-38. 

140  For  example,  L'M.S.,  p.  338;  B.-A.,  p.  195. 

1*1  See  preceding  paragraph. 

1*2  For  example,  M.B.;  N£. 

143  For  example,  cf.  the  first  paragraph  describing  the  house  at  Tostes  in 
M.B.  (pp.  43-44)  with  the  first  four  paragraphs  describing  "les  Peuples,"  in 
U.V.  (pp.  12-13). 

144  See  above,  pp.  49,  5i,  55- 

145  See  practically  anywhere  in  Maupassant's  work. 

146  For  example,  in  L'£.d.S. 

147  For  example,  cf.  paragraphs  on  pp.  116-17,  M.B.'y  pp.  214-15,  Sal;  etc. 


S8 


FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 


parallel  columns  for  the  sake  of  comparison  in  form,  not  in  subject. 
They  are  taken  from  U Education  sentimentale  and  Bel- Ami. 


Flaubert 

Pour  se  venger  de  son  maitre, 
sans  doute,  le  garqon  se  contenta 
de  sourire  [L'Ed.S.,  p.  153]. 

C'etait  jour  de  reception.  Des 
voitures  stationnaient  dans  la  cour. 
Deux  valets  se  precipiterent  sous 
la  marquise,  et  un  troisieme,  au  haut 
de  I'escalier,  se  mit  a  marcher  de- 
vant  lui  [L'Ed.S.,  p.  185]. 

Tout  a  coup,  Martinon  apparut, 
en  face,  sous  I'autre  porte.  Elle 
se  leva.  II  lui  offrit  son  bras. 
Frederic,  pour  le  voir  continuer  ses 
galanteries,  traversa  les  tables  de 
jeu  et  les  rejoignit  dans  le  grand 
salon;  Mme  Dambreuse  quitta 
aussitot  son  cavalier,  et  Ventretint 
familierement  [^L'Ed.S.,  p.  230]. 


'  Maupassant 

Elle  ne  parla  point  de  sortir  et 
jut  charmante  de  toutes  faqons 
{B.-A.,  p.  162]. 

Et  ils  se  rendirent  dans  un  res- 
taurant voisin.  Duroy  ne  parlait 
plus  guere.  II  mangea  pour  n'avoir 
pas  I'air  d'avoir  peur,  puis,  dans  le 
jour  il  accompagna  Boisrenard  au 
journal  et  il  fit  sa  besogne  d'une 
faqon  distraite  et  machinale.  On 
le  trouva  crane  [B.-A.,  p.  234]. 

II  s'assit  et  se  mit  a  reflechir. 
II  avait  jete  sur  sa  petite  table  une 
carte  de  son  adversaire  remise  par 
Rival,  afin  de  garder  son  adresse. 
II  la  relut  comme  il  I'avait  deja  lue 
vingt  fois  dans  la  journee.  Louis 
Langremont,  1/6,  rue  Montmartre.* 
Rien  de  plus  [B.-A,,  p.  236]. 


The  rather  abrupt  effect  produced  by  the  short  sentences  vi^ith 
the  historic  tense  is  to  be  observed  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs. 
The  impression  of  dry  precision  is  indeed  often  produced  by  Mau- 
passant's work.^*® 

There  is  some  general  resemblance  also  between  certain  descrip- 
tive paragraphs  in  the  two  authors.  An  example  is  given  where  the 
subject  of  the  two  paragraphs  is  the  same,  the  description  of  a 
stagecoach. 

Flaubert  Maupassant 


C'etait  un  coffre  jaune  porte 
par  deux  grandes  roues  qui,  mon- 
tant  jusqu'a  la  hauteur  de  la  bache, 
empechaient  les  voyageurs  de  voir 
la  route  et  leur  salissaient  les 
epaules.    Les  petits  carreaux  de  ses 


Cetait  une  voiture  jaune,  mon- 
tee  sur  des  roues  jaunes  aussi 
autrefois,  mais  rendues  presque 
grises  par  I'accumulation  des  houes. 
Celles  de  devant  etaient  toutes 
petites;   celles  de  derriere,  hautes 


1*®  For  example,  C.dJ.e.d.LN. 
Judas,  pp.  278-79. 


Une  Vendetta,  pp.  144-45;  Toine:  Le  Pere 


LIKENESS  IN  GENERAL  REALISTIC  DEVICES  59 

vasistas    etroits    tremblaient    dans  et   freles,   portaient   le   coffre  dif- 

leurs  chassis  quand  la  voiture  etait  forme  et  enfle  comme  un  ventre  de 

fermee,  et  gardaient  des  taches  de  bete.     Trois  rosses  blanches,  dont 

boue,  qa  et  la,   parmi  leur  vieille  on    remarquait    au    premier    coup 

couche  de  poussiere,  que  les  pluies  d'oeil,  les  tetes  enormes  et  les  gros 

d'orage  meme  ne  lavaient  pas  tout  genoux  ronds,  attelees  en  arbalete, 

a  fait.     Elle  etait  attelee  de  trois  devaient  trainer  cette  carriole  qui 

chevaux,  dont  le  premier  en  arha-  avait  du  monstre  dans  sa  structure 

lete,     et,    lorsqu'on    descendait    les  et  son  allure.     Les  chevaiix  sem- 

cotes,  elle  touchait  du  fond  en  caho-  blaient      endormis      deja      devant 

tant  [M.-J5.,  p.  107].  I'etrange  vehicule  [M.Par.:  L.B.a. 

M.B.,  pp.  77-7^'\' 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  foregoing  paragraphs  have  about  the 
same  length  and  begin  in  the  same  way.  They  mention  largely  the 
same  things  about  the  coach :  the  yellow  color,  the  cumbrous  body, 
the  large  wheels,  the  mud  with  which  it  is  spattered,  the  three 
horses,  one  in  front  of  the  other  two,  by  which  it  is  hauled.  There 
is  some  similarity  in  wording  (indicated  in  the  quotations  by  italics). 
The  general  impression  conveyed  by  the  Flaubertian  paragraph  is 
that  of  a  monstrous,  unwieldy  vehicle;  Maupassant  takes  mon- 
strosity as  the  keynote  of  his  picture,  calls  the  coach  a  "monster," 
and  makes  the  horses  also  monsters  in  order  to  emphasize  still 
further  the  same  general  effect  as  Flaubert. 

Both  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  show  a  special  use  of  the  short 
sentence  for  forcible  effect  at  the  end  of  a  paragraph,  chapter,  or 
short  story.^*^  Such  sentences  are  of  various  kinds.  Sometimes 
we  find  a  brief,  emphatic  statement  or  an  interrogative  or  exclama- 
tory phrase.^^^  Sometimes  the  sentence  is  one  of  dialogue  or  of 
monologue ;  to  this  reference  has  already  been  made  above.^^^  The 
sentence  may  contain  a  characteristic  detail  regarding  a  person, 
a  place,  an  event,  or  other  interest.^^^    ^  may  also  contain  summary, 

1*9  For  example,  Sal,  p.  104  (third  paragraph)  ;  P.e.L,  p.  113  (first  para- 
graph) ;  L'M.S.,  p.  409;  F.c.lM.,  p.  142;  T.C.:  Her.;  the  majority  of  Mau- 
passant's short  stories. 

150  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  26;  L.P.R.:  Rosalie  Prudent,  p.  152;  M.B.,  p. 
334;  C.d.LB.:   Menuet,  p.  69;  M.B.,  p.  314;  C.dJ.e.d.l.N.:   Le  Gueux,  p.  182. 

151  See  above,  p.  57. 

-  152  For  example,  Sal.,  p.  25;  M.Har.:    ^Gargon,  un  Bock!>  p.  241;  Sal, 
p.  379;  M.Har.:   UOrient,  p.  324;  L'£d.S.,  p.  592;  B.-A.,  p.  233. 


6o  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

conclusion,  or  comment.^'^^  Besides  the  use  of  interrogative  and 
exclamatory  sentences,  which  has  already  been  mentioned,  such 
sentences  are  further  frequently  employed  in  the  usual  course  of 
paragraphs  to  lend  variety  or  emphasis  to  the  style.  Examples  are 
very  numerous. ^'^^  The  carefully  constructed  periodic  sentence  is 
more  common  in  Flaubert  than  in  Maupassant.^^*^ 

By  Flaubert  transition  is  in  general  very  assiduously  regulated, 
by  Maupassant  much  less  so.^^®  The  result  in  the  case  of  the  latter 
tends  often  to  an  effect  of  jerkiness.  Some  of ^  the  romans,  for 
example,  produce  the  impression  of  a  succession  of  short  stories 
rather  than  of  one  continuous  long  story  with  succeeding  chapters.^^^ 
The  dislike  of  explanation  ^^^  frequently  apparent  in  thh  two  writers 
deprives  both  of  one  useful  method  of  transition  in  so/ far  as  they 
yield  to  this  dislike.  The  difficulty  of  transition  is  specifically 
acknowledged  by  both  men.^^^  Each  employs,  of  course,  the  ordinary 
methods  of  transition :  the  use  of  adverbs  or  adverbial  conjunctions 
of  time,  and  of  other  means  of  referring  back  or  forward  to  preced- 
ing or  succeeding  sentences,  paragraphs,  or  chapters.  The  con- 
nection is  constantly  indicated,  for  instance,  between  consecutive 
chapters  in  Madame  B ovary  and  Une  Vie.  Sometimes  the  transition 
is  accomplished  by  a  virtual  continuation  of  the  narrative,  without 
break  or  with  but  little  break,  from  one  chapter  to  another,  as 
between  chapters  VII  and  VIII  of  the  first  part  of  Madame  Bovary, 
or  between  chapters  V  and  VI  of  Une  Vie. 

With  regard  to  vocabulary  ^®^  both  Flaubert  and  Maupassant 
follow,  as  we  should  expect,  the  realist  principle  of  making  the 

153  Af. 5.,  p.  481;  C.dJ.e.d.lN.:    Un  Lache,  p.   121;   T.C.:    Hir.,  p.   190; 
L.S.R.:  Rencontre,  p.  226;  Sal,  p.  414;  C.d.L.:  La  reine  Hortense,  p.  86. 
15*  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  172;  B.-A.,  p.  282. 

155  See  especially  Madame  Bovary. 

156  Compare  Schinz,  "Notes  sur  le  vocabulaire  de  Maupassant,"  etc..  Revue 
des  langues  romanes  (1909),  p.  512. 

157  For  example,  U.V.;  M.-O. 

158  See  above,  under  "realistic  detail,"  pp.  38,  40. 

159  For  example,  Maynial,  La  Vie  et  I'oeuvre  de  Maupassant,  p.  99,  quota- 
tion; Flaubert,  Corr.,  Ill,  345;  etc. 

i«o  See,  as  the  foundation  for  the  whole  of  this  paragraph,  Anna  Ahlstrom, 
Btude  sur  la  langue  de  Flaubert,  Macon,  1899  (diss.),  and  Olof  Bosson,  Guy 
de  Maupassant,  quelques  recherches  sur  sa  langue,  Lund,  1907  (diss.). 


LIKENESS  IN  GENERAL  REALISTIC  DEVICES  6i 

language  adapt  itself  to  the  persons  and  circumstances  which  it 
describes.  In  the  main,  it  is  true,  the  language  of  each  conforms 
to  current  literary  usage  ;^®^  where  it  seems  necessary,  however,  for 
the  more  exact  or  emphatic  expression  of  the  thought,  neither  hesi- 
tates to  transgress  the  boundaries  of  that  usage.  The  following 
passage  from  the  Ahlstrom  dissertation  (see  footnote  i6o)  states 
the  case  with  precision  and  clearness  for  Flaubert. 

Son  penchant  realiste,  son  besoin  de  produire  de  Teffet,  pour  amuser 
ou  pour  eblouir  le  bourgeois,  lui  fait  rechercher  des  expressions  ade- 
quates  a  sa  pensee.  Lorsque  le  vocabulaire  ordinaire  ne  lui  suffit  pas,  il 
fait  des  emprunts  aux  langues  etrangeres,  anciennes  ou  modernes,  il 
force  le  franqais  des  temps  passes  et  ses  parlers  actuels  a  apporter  leur 
tribut  et  il  etudie  les  metiers  pour  profiter  de  leur  terminologie  speciale. 
A  bout  de  ressources,  il  forge  lui-meme  des  mots  et  pour  d'autres  il  en 
modifie  la  signification.^^^ 

To  a  greater  or  less  extent  Maupassant  employs  all  the  devices 
attributed  in  this  paragraph  to  Flaubert.  Of  archaisms  and  neolo- 
gisms,^'^ of  erudite  expressions,  he  uses  smaller  numbers  than  his 
master;  in  the  direction  of  argot,  of  dialect,  of  the  "language  of 
real  life,"  he,  as  one  would  expect,  goes  much  further.  The  follow- 
ing paragraph  is  quoted  as  giving  for  him  a  general  characterization 
of  language. 

Maupassant  cherche  avant  tout  a  ^faire  vrai*-»  a  nous  donner  une 
image  fidele  de  la  vie.  Lorsqu'il  prend  la  parole  lui-meme,  il  nous  offre, 
en  general,  un  langage  tres  correct,  tres  soigne.  Cest  quand  il  fait 
parler  d'autres  personnes  de  divers  milieux,  de  culture  et  de  position 
sociale  differentes,  qu'il  faut  I'epier.     II  ne  se  contente  jamais  de  nous 

161  In  a  class  exercise  (University  of  Chicago,  February  23,  1915),  where 
investigation  was  made,  under  the  direction  of  Professor  Jenkins,  of  the  per- 
centage of  words  of  current  French  in  a  representative  page  of  certain 
modern  French  authors,  the  percentage  for  Flaubert  was  found  to  be  59 
per  cent,  and  the  average  for  eight  other  writers,  of  whom  Maupassant  was 
one,  72  per  cent. 

162  Ahlstrom,  op.  cit.,  p.  20. 

i«s  Both  use  the  archaism  "sol"  (Ahlstrom,  op.  cit.,  p.  45 ;  Bosson,  op.  cit., 
p.  25)  ;  both  form  compounds  by  hyphenating  separate  words  (Ahlstrom,  pp. 
70-73;  Bosson,  pp.  51,  130).  Both  also  overdo  the  use  of  words  beginning 
with  re.  Cf.  Schinz,  Notes  sur  le  vocabulaire  de  Maupassant,  etc.  (Rdlr,  1909, 
p.  518)  ;  Flaubert,  Corr.,  Ill,  197,  201,  217,  229,  239,  etc. 


62  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

representer  le  parler  de  ses  personnages  sous  une  forme  «retouchee»,  il 
nous  le  donne  tel  qu'il  est,  avec  tous  ses  solecismes,  toutes  ses  negligences, 
toute  sa  rudesse,  toutes  ses  crudites. ^^* 

It  will  be  apparent  from  what  has  been  said  above  that  Maupas- 
sant's language  is,  according  to  the  general  acceptation  of  the  term, 
more  "realistic"  than  Flaubert's. 

In  this  last  chapter  we  have  been  studying  the  very  considerable 
resemblance  between  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  in  matters  of  literary 
procedure  not  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter.  We  have  seen 
that  they  employ  to  a  certain  extent  the  same  kinds  of  realistic 
detail,  the  same  forms  of  figurative  expression,  the  same  methods 
in  description,  narration,  and  dialogue,  the  same  devices  in  para- 
graph and  sentence  structure  and  in  use  of  language.  As  said 
before,^®^  the  procedes  discussed  in  this  chapter  are,  in  the  main, 
those  adopted  in  common  by  the  realistic  writers  of  the  day.  Some 
which  may  perhaps  be  more  distinctive  of  the  two  authors  in  ques- 
tion than  of  other  realists  are  the  following:  time  designation  by 
means  of  reference  to  characteristic  denoting  season  of  year; 
description  in  a  ray  of  light  or  in  shadow;  narration  of  the  past 
life  of  a  character  immobilized  through  the  medium  of  that  char- 
acter's thoughts;  "alternating"  dialogue;  use  of  a  short  sentence 
to  end  paragraph,  chapter,  or  story.  In  considering  the  procedes 
of  this  chapter  it  has  not  been  intended,  as  was  said  before,^^*  to 
attribute  to  them  more  than  the  weight  of  cumulative  testimony  when 
taken  in  conjunction  with  other  evidence  presented  for  the  rela- 
tionship of  Flaubert  and  Maupassant. 

18*  Bosson,  op.  cit.,  p.  7. 

165  See  above,  p.  38. 

166  Ihid. 


CHAPTER  V 

RESEMBLANCES  IN  PLOT,  INCIDENT,  CHARACTERIZATION, 
IDEAS,  AND  WORDING 

In  the  preceding  chapters  there  have  been  considered  similarities 
between  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  in  theories  and  precedes,  as  well 
as  the  history  of  their  personal  relationship.  Many  concrete  instances 
of  resemblance  have  been  mentioned  by  way  of  illustration.  It  yet 
remains  to  discuss  other  specific  examples  of  likeness  between  the 
two  in  fact,  idea,  and  wording,  which  have,  for  the  most  part, 
not  been  noted  in  illustration  of  previous  points. 

There  are,  first  of  all,  resemblances  in  what  may  be  called  "gen- 
eral effect."  Maupassant's  Le  Loup,^  which  narrates  the  killing  of 
a  huge  gray  wolf,  has  about  it  somewhat  the  same  atmosphere  of 
legendary  mysteriousness  as  Flaubert's  Saint-Julien  I' Hospitaller,^ 
the  impression  being  increased  by  certain  details  of  likeness.  In 
both  stories  the  scene  is  laid  in  a  past  remote  enough  to  be  more 
or  less  shadowy,  in  both  there  are  certain  extraordinary  qualities 
attributed  to  animals  or  to  an  animal,  in  both  the  events  transpiring 
produce  an  abhorrence  of  the  chase  succeeding  a  great  passion 
therefor.^  Likeness  in  general  effect  is  also  observable  in  Un  Coeur 
simple  and  Une  Vie,  both  of  which  give  the  impression  of  an  accu- 
mulation of  misfortunes  overwhelming  an  unfortunate  victim.  There 
is  a  certain  general  similarity  also,  as  was  implied  before,*  between 
some  passages  in  Maupassant's  letters  and  in  Flaubert's.  In  letters 
written  by  Maupassant  to  his  preceptor  there  are  traces  of  an 
exaggerated  and  exclamatory  style,  foreign,  as  far  as  one  can  judge 
from  the  other  letters  in  the  Conard  edition,^  to  the  former's  usual 
epistolary  manner,  but  exceedingly  common  in  the  latter's  corre- 
spondence.^    Appearing  as  they  do  in  letters  from  the  younger  to 

1  C.d.L.,  pp.  35-44.  2  T.C.,  pp.  77-125- 

^SJ.VH.,  p.  125;  L.L.,  p.  36;  SJ.VH.,  pp.  92-93,  107-10;  L.L.,  pp.  38,  40-42; 
SJ.l'H.,  pp.  92,  117;  L.L.,  p.  39;  SJ.VH.,  pp.  93-95,  84-93,  113  ff-,  103,  106  ff.; 
L.L.,  pp.  35-36,  44,  36-44. 

^  See  above,  p.  17.  ^  B.d.S.:   Corr.,  pp.  cxxv-lxxii. 

6  For  example,  Corr.,  I,  77,  135 ;  II,  109,  290,  etc. 

63 


64 


FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 


the  older  man,  they  read  like  remarks  made  by  the  pupil  in  consid- 
eration of  the  ideas  and  methods  of  the  master. 

The  following  passages  will  illustrate  what  is  meant.  They 
are  to  be  compared  with  those  quoted  alongside,  not  in  specific 
details,  but  in  general  manner. 


Flaubert 

L'histoire  de  la  croix  de  Zola 
est  pitoyable.  Est-ce  bete?  mais 
qu'est-ce  qui  n'est  pas  bete  ?  [Corr., 

IV,  349]. 

Oui,  j'ai  lu  la  brochure  de  Zola. 
Cest  enorme!  Quand  il  m'aura 
donne  la  definition  du  Naturalisme, 
je  serai  peut-etre  un  Naturaliste. 
Mais  d'ici  la,  moi  pas  comprendre. 

Et  Hennique  qui  a  fait,  aux 
Capucines,  une  conference  sur  le 
Naturalisme !  !  !  Oh  !  men  Dieu ! 
men  Dieu!  \^Corr.,  IV,  364]. 

Et  le  manifeste  politique  de  Zola 
menaqant  la  Republique  de  sombrer, 
si  elle  n'arbore  Tetendard  du  rea- 
lisme!  du  naturalisme,  pardon! 
Drole!   drole!  [_Corr.,  IV,  365-66]. 


Maupassant 

Zola  n'est  pas  decore — a  cause 
de  I'article  qu'il  a  ecrit  dans  le 
Figaro  *!!!  I  ...  Le  chef  du  cabi- 
net m'a  dit  que  le  ministere  ne  pou- 
vait  vraiment  pas"^  lui  donner  la 
croix  en  ce  moment ! ! !  ...  on 
reve.'^  ...  En  quoi  un  article  de 
critique  detruit-il  le  talent  de  Zola? 
[B.d.S. :  Corr.,  p.  cxiv] . 

Que  dites-vous  de  Zola?  moi  je 
le  trouve  absolument  fou.  Avez- 
vous  lu  son  article  sur  Hugo ! !  son 
article  sur  les  poetes  contempo- 
rains  et  sa  brochure  «la  Republique 
et  la  litterature»  ?  «La  Republique 
sera  naturaliste  ou  elle  ne  sera  pas», 
«JE  NE  SUIS  QU'UN  SAVANT» 
—  !  !  !  ! — (rien  que  cela! — quelle 
modestie ) , — «renquete  sociab, — le 
document  humain, — la  serie  des 
formules^, — on  verra  maintenant 
sur  le  dos  des  livres  «grand  roman 
selon  la  formule  naturaliste».  Je  ne 
suis  qu'un  savant*  !  !  !  !  !  cela  est 
pyramidal  !  !  !  et  on  ne  rit  pas  . . . 
\^B.d.S.:  Corr.,  pp.  cxx-cxxi]. 


The  foregoing  passages  have  been  chosen  for  purposes  of  illus- 
tration because  they  are  concerned  with  the  same  subjects:  the 
decoration  of  Zola,  the  stupidity  of  the  governing  classes,  the  pre- 
tensions of  Zola  and  the  naturalists.  In  them  will  be  noticed  the 
same  general  tone  of  exasperation,  the  same  tendency  to  multiply 


^  Word  often  used  by  Flaubert  in  similar  places  in  letters ;  cf.,  for  example, 
Corr.,  Ill,  39,  244,  298;  IV,  362;  etc. 


RESEMBLANCES  65 

emphases  through  the  use  of  itaUcs  and  of  exclamation  points,  the 
same  employment  of  unusual  expressions. 

There  is  some  similarity  between  the  plots  of,  the  two  men. 
For  instance,  there  are  several  stories  of  Maupassant's  which  recall 
Madame  Bovary.  The  first  of  these  to  be  mentioned  is  Une  Vie, 
which  is  like  Flaubert's  novel  in  many  particulars  of  plot.  In  both 
cases  a  large  part  of  the  story  is  concerned  with  marital  treachery. 
In  one  case  it  is  the  wife,  in  the  other  the  husband,  who  is  the 
offender.  The  separate  instances  of  unfaithfulness  recorded  are, 
in  each  book,  two  in  number.  Rodolphe  and  Emma  in  Madame 
Bovary,  Julien  and  Gilberte  in  Une  Vie,  make  riding  a  means  to  their 
intercourse  and  seek  their  rendezvous  in  the  woods  and  on  the 
countryside.  The  "cabane  ambulante"*  of  Une  Vie  takes  the  place 
of  the  "tonnelle"^  of  Madame  Bovary.  The  two  sinners,  Emma 
and  Julien,  come  to  an  unnatural  end,  a  beggar  being  connected  in 
each  case  with  the  catastrophe.^"  An  excursion  by  boat  enters  into 
the  love-making  of  Leon  and  Emma,  of  Julien  and  Jeanne.^^  In 
both  stories  the  child  of  the  heroine,  a  pet  dog,  revealing  letters,  play 
some  part.  There  are  frequent  journey ings  by  stagecoach,  by  car- 
riage, by  train.  In  each  case  the  heroine  changes  her  place  of  abode 
during  the  progress  of  the  plot.  Money  matters  exert  a  considerable 
influence  in  the  two,  there  being  talk  of  debts,  of  mortgages,  and 
of  selling  of  possessions.  Emma  is  ruined  by  her  own  extravagance, 
Jeanne  by  the  "bonte"  of  her  parents  and  herself  and  by  the  prodi- 
gality of  her  son.  Jeanne  is  made  unhappy  by  Julien's  stinginess  in 
money  matters  no  less  than  Charles  by  Emma's  wastefulness.  In 
Madame  Bovary  we  have  Lheureux  and  his  agents  who  conduct 
the  money  affairs;  in  Une  Vie  the  Jew  and  others  who  come  to 
Jeanne  regarding  Paul's  debts.  In  both  books  there  is  the  descrip- 
tion of  a  public  ceremony;  in  one  the  "Comices  agricoles";  in  the 
other  the  christening  of  the  "J^^^^^-"^^  The  account  of  either 
celebration  follows  the  course  of  the  lovers  as  they  walk :  Rodolphe 
and  Emma  pass  from  place  to  place,  seeing  the  various  sights  of 
the  day,  and  finally  taking  refuge  in  the  "salle  des  deliberations"  while 
the  speeches  are  being  delivered  and  the  prizes  given;   Julien  and 

8  U.V.,  p.  276,  etc.  10  A/.5.,  pp.  448-49;  U.V.,  pp.  280-82. 

9  MS.,  p.  234,  etc.  "  M.B.,  pp.  353  ff. ;  U.V.,  pp.  44  ff- 
i2M.jB.,  pp.  183-214;  U.V.,  pp.  56-62. 


66  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Jeanne  descend  from  "les  Peuples"  to  the  beach,  where  the  chris- 
tening of  the  boat  takes  place.  Rodolphe  makes  advances  to  Emma, 
JuHen  to  Jeanne,  during  the  progress  of  the  ceremony.  In  both 
stories  we  have  a  severe  illness  of  the  heroine,  caused  in  Emma's 
case  by  Rodolphe's  desertion,  in  Jeanne's  by  the  shock  of  discovering 
her  husband's  infidelity.  Emma's  attack  is  said  to  be  brain  fever  ;^^ 
Jeanne's  is  not  thus  named,  but  seems  to  be  the  same  thing.  In 
both  books  we  have  a  ball,  a  death  scene,  and  a  watch  by  the  dead 
included  in  the  progress  of  the  plot.  In  both  there  is  an  element 
of  the  horrible ;  for  example,  in  Madame  Bovary  the  account  of  the 
blind  beggar,  and  in  Une  Vie  the  narration  of  the  death  of  Julien 
and  Gilberte. 

/       Another  story  which  has    some    points  of   resemblance   with 

/  Madame  Bovary  is  La  Parure.^*    In  it  we  have  a  woman  who,  like 

I  Emma,  is,  or  imagines  herself  to  be,  entirely  out  of  her  element. 

I  Like  Flaubert's  heroine,  Madame  Loisel  dreams  of  a  different  life, 

I  and  like  her,  too,  is  invited  and  goes  to  a  ball  in  a  society  to  which 

/   she  cannot  ordinarily  hope  to  be  admitted.    Like  Flaubert's  heroine, 

I    she  enjoys  the  experience  but  is  afflicted  afterward  by  resulting 

!    sadness.     Misfortune  affecting  the  whole  life  follows  in  each  case, 

although  different  in  character  and  extent. 

Also  containing  likenesses  to  Madame  Bovary  is  the  story  of 
the  little  provincial  who  comes  to  Paris  and  forces  herself  into  "une 
aventure  d'amour,"  only  to  be  disillusioned  by  her  experiences.  The 
heroine  of  Une  Aventure  parisienne^^  has,  like  Emma,  entertained 
inordinate  longings  for  Parisian  glory  beneath  apparent  acquies- 
cence in  the  monotonous  course  of  her  everyday  life.  Like  her,  she 
buys  and  reads  society  journals  and  is  especially  attracted  by  th^ 
glamor  of  what  Maupassant  calls  "des  horizons  de  jouissances 
coupables  et  ravageantes.^^  Especially  does  she  indulge  her  dreams 
during  the  night,  contrasting  the  world  of  her  imagination  with  her 
commonplace  surroundings.  Here  again  she  resembles  Emma.  As 
in  the  case  of  the  Flaubertian  character,  the^reams  of  Maupassant's 
heroine  end  in  disenchantment.  -'«*--»>h*;«»^_ 

Between  Un  Coeur  simple  and  Une  Vie  there  are  many  simi- 
larities. Flaubert's  Felicite  is  now  like  Jeanne,  now  like  Rosalie, 
in  Maupassant's  story.  The  main  thread  of  the  plot  concerns  her 
resemblance  to   Jeanne.      Both,   simple-minded  and   with   unusual 

18  M.B.,  p.  290.  15  Mile  P.,  pp.  193-205. 

1*  C.dJ.e.d.lN.,  pp.  59-74.  16  Ibid.,  p.  194. 


RESEMBLANCES  67 

capacities  for  devotion,  suffer  from  blow  after  blow  to  the  affections 
dealt  by  death  or  disappointment,  which  leaves  the  victim  aged, 
benumbed,  and  stupefied,  clinging  desperately  to  memories  of  the 
past  and  to  the  objects  which  recall  those  memories.  Like  Rosalie, 
Felicite  is  a  faithful  servant  to  a  somewhat  exacting  mistress,  and 
shows,  in  her  mistress'  interest,  considerable  shrewdness,  bravery, 
and  power  of  economy.  The  relation  of  mistress  and  maid  in  both 
stories  becomes  increasingly  one  of  intimacy  and  affection,  the  two 
uniting  especially  in  remembrances  of  the  past.  In  some  respects 
Jeanne  resembles  Mme  Aubain,  of  Un  Coeur  simple,  rather  than 
Felicite.  Both  have  two  farms  attached  to  their  property,  both  lose 
their  fortunes  in  later  years,  sell  some  of  their  possessions,  and  go 
to  a  less  expensive  house.  Both  spend  much  of  their  time  in  idle 
brooding,  leaving  the  direction  of  affairs  to  the  faithful  servant. 
Both  possess  a  son  called  Paul,  who,  after  being  sent  to  school,  to 
which  he  rejoices  to  go  for  the  sake  of  the  companionship  to  be 
enjoyed,  falls  into  irregular  ways  of  life,  contracts  debts  which  his 
mother  pays,  and,  passing  unsuccessfully  from  one  employment  to 
another,  finally  marries  a  woman  distasteful  to  the  latter.  In  the 
course  of  their  development  both  stories  touch  upon  many  like 
comings  and  goings  of  provincial  life,  and  both  give  glimpses  of 
fisher  folk. 

The  next  works  of  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  to  be  compared  are 
UEdiication  sentimentale  and  Bel-Ami.  While  there  is  considerable 
resemblance  here,  it  is  harder  to  specify  than  in  any  of  the  cases 
already  taken  up.  Both  stories  deal  with  the  career  of  a  young 
man  who  passes  through  various  experiences  of  Parisian  life,  the 
one  to  failure,  the  other  to  success.  A  certain  unity  is  given  in  each 
case  to  the  rambling  story  by  relating  everything  to  the  fortunes 
of  the  chief  character.  Frederic,  beginning  with  fa:ir  chances,  throws 
away  all  opportunities  and  accomplishes  nothing,  owing  to  his 
"mollesse"  and  lack  of  decision.  Duroy,  starting  with  his  fortunes 
at  an  exceedingly  low  ebb,  advances,  chiefly  through  the  aid  of  his 
mistresses  and  by  means  of  ruthless  self-assertion,  to  a  position  of 
importance  beyond  that  for  which  he  had  hoped.  At  first  indeed 
he  is  rather  like  Frederic  in  want  of  decisiveness,  but  the  weakness 
gradually  vanishes  as  he  becomes  sure  of  himself.  In  other  respects 
the  two  men  are  similar.  Both  dream  of  great  things  to  be  done  and 
enjoyed  in  the  future.  Both  possess  considerable  fascination  for 
the  opposite  sex,  having  in  the  course  of  the  experiences  related  in 


68  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

the  story,  love  affairs  progressing  simultaneously  with  three  sepa- 
rate women.  To  the  delight  of  the  successful  suitor,  one  of  these 
women  is,  in  each  case,  the  "great  lady"  of  the  story,  whom  each 
has  been  advised  to  cultivate  in  order  to  further  his  material  inter- 
ests. One  love  affair  in  both  books  persists  through  all  vicissitudes — 
that  of  Frederic  with  Mme  Arnoux,  that  of  Duroy  with  Mme  de 
Marelle.  Both  men,  besides,  become  engaged  to  young  girls  for  the 
sake  of  their  fortunes,  Frederic  afterwards  escaping  from  his  mar- 
riage, Duroy  carrying  his  through.  It  is  interesting  to  note  for 
revelation  of  the  character  of  Frederic  that  in  the  three  instances 
where  marriage  is  suggested  to  him  it  is  the  woman  in  each  case 
who  does  the  proposing.^^  Mme  Arnoux  in  UEducation  senti- 
mentale,  Mme  de  Marelle  in  Bel-Ami,  have  little  daughters  to  whom 
Frederic  and  Duroy  show  attention.  In  both  books  the  husband  of 
one  of  the  women  loved  dies  of  lung  disease  in  the  course  of  the 
story.^^  The  lover  is  present  during  the  final  scenes,  assists  in  the 
watch  by  the  dead,  and  looks  after  the  funeral  arrangements. 
Frederic  then  is  about  to  marry  the  widow,  Mme  Dambreuse,  but 
abandons  her  after  what  he  considers  an  insult  offered  by  her  to 
Mme  Arnoux.  Duroy  accomplishes  his  marriage  with  Madeleine 
Forestier  after  the  death  of  her  husband  but  subsequently  divorces 
her.  On  one  occasion  an  insult  to  Mme  Arnoux  involves  Frederic 
in  a  duel  with  Cisy.^®  Duroy  also  finds  himself  committed  to  a  duel, 
in  his  case  through  an  insult  bestowed  upon  him  by  a  rival  journal.^^ 
Some  incidents  of  the  duels  are  much  alike.  Duroy  resembles  rather 
the  Cisy  of  Flaubert's  story  than  Frederic  in  his  mechanical  actions, 
his  thirst,  his  desire  for  an  accident  to  prevent  the  occurrence,  his 
extreme  terror.  Frederic  and  Duroy  act  similarly  in  that  both  look 
in  the  glass  to  see  if  they  show  traces  of  fear,  whereupon  both  dis- 
cover themselves  to  be  pale.  Both  also  think  of  the  probable  effect  of 
a  tragic  ending  on  their  parents.  In  neither  duel  is  anyone  hurt,  and 
the  event  is  treated  by  the  two  authors  as  a  rather  ridiculous  perform- 
ance. The  insulting  notice  in  a  journal,  from  which  Frederic  suf- 
fers no  less  than  Duroy,  happens  to  the  former  in  an  account  of  the 
duel  which  puts  him  in  a  most  unfavorable  light.  In  many  other 
particulars  Duroy  seems  to  imitate  Frederic.  Both  come  of  provin- 
cial families  and  betake  themselves  to  Paris  against  the  will  of  their 

^T£dS.,  pp.  362,  541-42,  561.  i9/6tW.,  pp.  318  ff. 

^^Ibid.,  pp.  537  ff.;  B.'A.,  pp.  221  ff.  'i^B.-A.,  pp.  230  ff. 


RESEMBLANCES  69 

parents.^^  Both  are  poor  at  first,  are  frequently  in  money  difficulties, 
and  pass  their  lives  amid  surroundings  of  which  the  sordid  details 
are  given. ^^  Both  acquire  moderate  fortunes  during  the  development 
of  the  story.^^  Frederic  tries  to  secure  an  invitation  to  the  residence 
of  M.  Dambreuse,  Duroy  to  obtain  one  to  the  house  of  M.  Walter.^* 
Having  been  tendered  the  invitation,  each  of  the  two  is  represented 
on  one  occasion  as  advancing  down  a  long  series  of  rooms  to  greet 
his  hostess,^^  and  on  another  as  drawing  attention  upon  himself  by 
unorthodox  remarks.^®  Both  celebrate  their  rise  in  station  by  pur- 
chasing new  clothes.^^  Each  is  shown  to  us  more  than  once  looking 
in  the  glass.^^  Both  make  plans  for  election  as  deputy.^^  In  many 
incidents  the  two  appear,  Frederic  at  least  progressively  so,  to  be 
self-centred  and  touchy,  to  shirk  the  disagreeable,  to  be  untrust- 
worthy and  mean,  to  be  troubled  by  few  qualms  of  conscience. 

For  many  details  of  Duroy's  career  comparisons  are  to  be  found 
in  the  lives  of  the  secondary  characters  of  Flaubert  as  well  as  in  the 
experience  of  Frederic.  He  is,  as  has  been  seen,  rather  like  Cisy  than 
Frederic  in  the  affair  of  the  duel.  He  resembles  the  former  also  in 
his  attempt  to  secure  for  a  wife  the  young  heiress  of  the  financial 
magnate.  Here  a  further  parallel  is  found  in  Martinon,  who  actually 
does  secure  the  heiress,  outdoing  the  other  suitor,  like  Duroy,  by 
skilful  manoeuvring.  Both  men  transfer  their  attentions  in  the  trans- 
action to  the  young  girl  in  question,  the  one  from  the  mother,  the 
other  from  the  aunt,  to  the  great  chagrin  of  the  older  woman.^°  Both, 
beginning  in  social  obscurity,  attain  considerable  prominence  in  the 
circles  in  which  they  move,  owing  largely  to  feminine  favors.  Like 
Flaubert's  Hussonnet,  Duroy  shamelessly  makes  a  convenience  of 
people;  like  his  Delmar,  he  exercises  a  strange  fascination  over 

^-^U^d.S.,  pp.  131,  140-41,  etc.;  B.-A.,  p.  57. 

22  L'^dS.,  p.  30,  etc. ;  B.-A.,  pp.  52  ff. 

^^URd.S.,  pp.  139-40;  B.-A.,  p.  530,  etc. 

2*  U£:d.S.,  pp.  24,  37,  etc. ;  B.-A.,  pp.  178-79,  etc. 

^^L'M.S.,  p.  185;  B.-A.,  pp.  180-81. 

^^L'M.S.,  pp.  342-44;  B.-A.,  pp.  184-85. 

^T£d.S.,  p.  162;  B.-A.,  p.  28. 

28 L'^rf.S.,  pp.  71,  323,  etc.;  B.-A.,  pp.  29-31,  51,  etc. 

29  U£d.S.,  pp.  530,  536,  552,  etc. ;  B.-A.,  p.  428,  etc. 

30  The  motif  of  a  man's  falling  in  love  with  the  daughter  after  being  the 
mother's  lover  is  rather  frequent  in  Maupassant.    Cf .  Fort  comme  la  Mort,  etc. 


70  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

others,  owing  partly  to  his  appearance,  with,  as  is  hinted,  its  resem- 
blance to  the  traditional  ideal  of  benevolence.*^  In  some  ways  Duroy 
shows  also  considerable  similarity  to  Deslauriers,  Frederic's  friend. 
He  is  of  the  social  class  rather  of  Deslauriers  than  of  Frederic  and 
appears  at  first,  like  him,  in  shabby  clothing,  borrowing  money  from 
a  friend.  Duroy's  father  is  a  "cabaretier" ;  the  latest  avocation  of 
Deslauriers'  father  is  the  same.  Both  give  the  impression  of  pos- 
sessing greater  energy  than  Frederic.  Finally  Deslauriers  resembles 
Duroy  in  his  journalistic  interest. 

In  UEducation  sentimentde  and  Bel-Ami  there  are,  besides  the 
characters  already  mentioned,  others  which  correspond  in  certain 
details.  In  both  books  there  are  two  men  of  affairs,  one  of  whom  is 
of  much  greater  prominence  than  the  other.  Forestier  is  like  Arnoux 
in  his  feverish  activity,  in  his  fondness  for  "bibelots,"  and  in  some 
other  interests ;  he  is  like  Dambreuse,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out, 
in  the  manner  of  his  death.  Walter  resembles  Dambreuse  in  domi- 
nating the  financial  situation  of  the  story  and  in  exhibiting  the 
self-importance  and  other  characteristics  of  a  financial  magnate. 

Among  the  women  Mme  Walter  resembles  Mme  Dambreuse,  as 
has  been  said,*^  in  being  the  "grande  dame,"  in  her  relations  with  the 
principal  character,  and  in  her  jealousy  of  the  younger  woman  who 
takes  her  lover  from  her.  In  her  puerilities  she  is  like  Rosanette 
rather  than  Mme  Dambreuse.  Her  absurd  infatuation  for  Duroy 
further  resembles  somewhat  that  of  "La  Vatnaz"  for  Delmar.  The 
daughter  of  Mme  Arnoux  has  already  been  referred  to  as  having  her 
counterpart  in  the  child  of  Mme  de  Marelle.  Both  little  girls  are  rep- 
resented as  acting  like  grown-up  people  and  especially  as  displaying 
a  coquetry  in  advance  of  their  years. 

Besides  the  similarities  in  specific  incident  already  mentioned  there 
are  a  few  others  which  ought  to  be  noted  here.  In  both  stories 
the  chief  character  is  annoyed  by  a  "scie" — Frederic  by  that  of 
"Arnoux,"  Duroy  by  that  of  "Forestier."**  In  both  there  is  a  public 
ceremony  in  the  Madeleine,  characterized  by  irreverent  behavior  on 
the  part  of  those  present.**  In  both  a  picture  of  the  Founder  of 
Christianity  plays  some  part.*^  In  each  some  mention  is  made  of  the 
condition  of  French  affairs  in  Algeria. 

^^L'M.S.,  pp.  103,  431-33,  etc.;  B.-A.,  pp.  508,  551,  etc. 

32  See  above,  p.  68.  ss  L'M.S.,  p.  84,  etc.;  B.-A.,  p.  345,  etc. 

^^U^d.S.,  pp.  546-47;  B.-A.,  pp.  561  if. 

35  U£d.S.,  p.  429;  B.-A.,  pp.  478  ff.    See  below,  p.  86. 


RESEMBLANCES  71 

In  addition  to  particular  resemblances  there  is  considerable  like- 
ness in  general  setting  between  UEducation  sentimentale  and  Bel- 
Ami.  Both  give  pictures  of  Parisian  society  of  various  grades  and 
types,  involving  excursions,  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night,  through 
all  parts  of  Paris  and  into  all  manner  of  places  of  business  and  of 
legitimate  and  illegitimate  pleasure.  In  both  much  space  is  allotted 
to  the  social  happenings  which  illustrate  the  society  in  question — to 
balls,  receptions,  dinners,  etc.  In  each  the  political  events  of  the  day 
are  closely  connected  with  the  fortunes  of  the  characters.  Bel-Ami 
is  in  the  main  a  story  of  journalism ;  UEducation  sentimentale  has 
likewise  much  to  say  of  journals  and  journalists.  Financial  affairs 
of  various  kinds  enter  largely  into  the  development  of  the  plots.  In 
social  and  business  matters  the  atmosphere  in  the  two  books  is  one 
of  scandal  and  deception,  of  intrigue,  of  sordid  quarrelsomeness  and 
undignified  striving. 

Besides  the  cases  in  which  a  whole  story  of  Maupassant's  corre- 
sponds to  the  whole  or  to  part  of  a  story  of  Flaubert's  there  are  many 
instances  of  similar  incidents  and  scenes.  In  Farce  Normande^^  there 
is  described  a  wedding  procession  through  the  fields  like  that  of 
Emma  in  Madame  Bovary.^"^  There  is  the  same  order  of  procession 
and  the  same  atmosphere  of  peasant  gaiety.  In  Madame  B ovary  the 
cortege  is  called  "une  seule  echarpe  de  couleur"  f^  in  Farce  Normande 
it  is  compared  to  a  serpent.^^  The  people  following  Emma  proceed 
to  the  accompaniment  of  a  fiddler's  efforts ;  those  in  Farce  Normande 
to  the  shots  fired  off  in  honor  of  the  bridegroom,  who  is  "un  chasseur 
frenetique."*^  The  sounds  of  the  fiddle,  even  when  heard  from  a 
distance,  frighten  the  little  birds  away.''^  In  Farce  Normande  the 
flaming  shawls  of  the  women  have  the  same  effect  of  astonishment 
upon  the  hens,  the  ducks,  and  the  pigeons  of  the  farmyard.*^  A  sim- 
ilar idea  is  found  in  Petit  Soldat*^  where  it  is  said  that  the  shining 
leather  shakos  and  copper  buttons  of  the  two  "little  soldiers"  stop  the 
larks  overhead.*^  After  the  procession  there  is  in  both  stories  the 
same  lengthy  feasting  and  the  same  free  jesting,  with  a  predilection 


36  C.d.l.B.,  pp.  87-95. 

37  M.B.,  pp.  37-38-  '         *'  M.B.,  p.  38. 

38  Ibid.,  p.  Z7-  *2  C.d.lB.,  p.  89. 

39  C.d.lB.,  p.  89.  *3  M.Par.,  pp.  287-99- 
*o  Ibid.,  p.  87.                                    **  Ihid.,  p.  291. 


72  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

for  practical  jokes.*'  In  Ma  Femme*^  and  Une  Vie*''  there  is  also 
mention  of  a  Norman  wedding  feast  and  the  succeeding  rustic  ball, 
the  passages  being  almost  precisely  the  same  in  the  two  places. 
A  third  procession  across  the  fields,  this  time  going  and  coming, 
instead  of  only  coming  as  in  the  former  stories,  is  described  in  Le 
Bapteme.*^  In  all  three  descriptions  of  processions  attention  is  called 
to  the  playing  of  children  round  and  about  the  moving  company  of 
their  elders.  The  last-named  procession  is,  like  the  preceding  two, 
followed  by  a  feast  and  rude  joking.  Other  processions  through  the 
country  are  Emma's  funeral  procession  in  Madame  B  ovary, '^^  the 
procession  to  the  shore  at  the  christening  of  the  "Jeanne"  in  Une 
Vie,^^  the  procession  of  the  sacrament  to  the  house  of  the  dying 
peasant  woman  in  Le  Diahle,^^  and  the  procession  at  the  blessing  of 
the  springs  in  Mont-Oriol.^^  Another  ceremony  in  a  peasant  com- 
munity which  is  depicted  by  both  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  is  that 
of  the  first  communion.  Accounts  are  given  of  this  in  Un  Coeur 
simple,  Bouvard  et  Pecuchet,  and  La  Maison  Tellier.^^  In  all  three 
the  veils  of  the  little  girls  are  described  by  means  of  very  simifer 
figures.  In  Un  Coeur  simple  they  are  said  to  form  "a  field  of 
snow"  f*  in  Bouvard  et  Pecuchet  the  children  kneeling  resemble  "a 
line  of  white  clouds"  ;^'  in  La  Maison  Tellier  they  are  enveloped  in 
"a  cloud  of  snowy  tulle."^*  Maupassant's  account  of  the  ceremony 
is  very  much  longer  than  either  one  of  Flaubert's,  and  its  satirical 
tone  may  well  have  been  caught  from  Bouvard  et  Pecuchet.  The 
midnight  mass  of  Christmas  Eve  is  also  mentioned  by  the  two  men 
in  Bouvard  et  Pecuchet,  Un  Reveillon,  and  Conte  de  Noel.^'^  Both 
speak  of  the  coldness  of  the  night  (in  all  three  stories),  of  the  little 
lights  in  the  darkness  made  by  the  lanterns  of  the  peasants  (in  B.e.P. 
and  C.d.N.),  and  of  the  scene  of  naive  faith  in  the  church  (in  all  three 
stories).  In  Madame  B ovary  and  in  Mont-Oriol  a  public  celebration 
ends  with  fireworks,  the  exhibition  of  which  departs  in  each  case 

45  M.B.,  pp.  38-41 ;  C.dlB.,  pp.  90-95-  *^  M.B.,  pp.  465-66. 

^^L.M.T.,  pp.  265-76.  ^^U.V.,  pp.  58-59. 

47  U.V.,  pp.  79-81.  51 L.//.,  pp.  128-29. 

*8  M.Har.,  pp.  245-53.  ^2  M.-O.,  pp.  232-34. 

53  T.C.,  pp.  25-26;  B.e.P.,  pp.  314-16;  LM.T.,  pp.  31-38. 
54r.C.,  p.  25.  ^^B.e.P.,  p.  315. 

5e  LM.T.,  p.  30. 
57B.^.P.,  pp.  297-98;  Mile  F.,  pp.  173-75;  C.d.L.,  pp.  67-70. 


RESEMBLANCES  73 

somewhat  from  the  prearranged  plan.^^  A  small  incident  of  a  peasant 
assembly  which  is  noticed  by  both  authors  is  the  following.  In 
Madame  B ovary,  while  the  crowd  in  the  street  is  listening  to  the 
speeches  at  the  "Comices  agricoles,"  there  comes  a  gust  of  wind,  and 
"tous  les  grands  bonnets  des  paysannes  se  souleverent,  comme  des 
ailes  de  papillons  blancs  qui  s'agitent."^**  In  Les  Sahots,^^  a  similar 
gust  of  wind,  blowing  through  the  open  doors  of  a  church  over  the 
"bonnets  blancs  des  paysannes,"  tosses  up  in  its  passage  "les  longs 
rubans  des  coiffures."^^  In  Le  Rosier  de  Madame  Husson^^  there  is 
a  public  address  distinguished  by  something  of  the  same  inanity  as  is 
apparent  in  the  speech  of  the  counsellor  at  the  '^Comices  agricoles."*^ 
To  be  mentioned  also  in  this  connection  are  the  account  of  the  meet- 
ing of  the  club  in  L'Education  sentimentale  and  of  the  suffrage  society 
in  Oeiwres  posthumes,  11.^*  The  audience  consists  in  each  case  of 
ridiculous  and  ineffective  figures,  among  them  certain  foreigners,  the 
speeches  are  foolish,  and  the  gathering  is  disorderly.  The  whole 
representation  is  evidently  intended  to  be  caricatural. 

Several  times  both  in  Flaubert  and  in  Maupassant  it  happens 
that  a  person  in  need  of  some  kind  goes  to  a  church  or  to  a  priest  for 
aid.  Uhistoire  d'une  fille  de  ferme^'^  resembles  here  in  a  short  pas- 
sage the  experience  of  Emma  Bovary.  Emma,  hearing  the  bell  ring- 
ing the  Angelus,  and  remembering  her  convent  days,  goes  to  the 
church,  where  she  meets  the  Abbe  Bournisien.  To  him  she  tries  to 
tell  her  trouble,  but,  repulsed  by  his  strange  lack  of  comprehension, 
leaves  him  with  her  distress  unspoken.®*^  Rose  goes  to  church  and 
prays  at  the  time  of  the  Angelus.  Then  she  seeks  out  the  cure;  but 
he  goes  on  with  his  dinner  as  he  waits  for  her  to  speak,  and  she,  like 
Emma,  departs  with  her  secret  unrevealed.  An  incident  in  Bel-Ami 
which  has  several  points  of  contact  with  one  in  Madame  Bovary  is 
that  where  Mme  Walter  gives  Duroy  a  rendezvous  in  the  Church  of 
the  Trinity.®^  Similarly  Emma  has  promised  to  meet  Leon  in  Rouen 
Cathedral.^*  Like  details  are  noted  in  the  scene  outside  of  the  church 
— the  brightness  of  the  summer  sun  and  the  plashing  of  the  water  in 

58  M.B.,  p.  211 ;  M.-O.,  pp.  245-48,  252-53.         «i  C.d.lB.,  p.  gg. 

59  M.B.,  p.  207.  «2  L.R.d.M.H.,  p.  24. 

60  C.d./.B.,  pp.  99-109.  63  j|/.5,^  pp.  197.202. 
64  U£dS.,  pp.  433-43 ;  O.P.,  II :  Seance  puhlique,  pp.  73-8o. 
^^LM.T.,  pp.  55-91.  ^"^B.-A.,  pp.  394,  397-412- 
6«M.B.,  pp.  153-59.  ®^  M'B.,  pp.  328,  330-36. 


74  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

the  fountain.  In  both  cases  the  lover  arrives  too  early  and  makes  the 
circuit  of  the  nave,  noticing,  among  other  things,  the  light  falling 
through  the  colored  windows.  In  both  he  becomes  impatient  and 
finally  sits  down  to  wait.  Leon's  solitude  and  subsequent  meeting 
with  Emma  are  disturbed  by  the  "suisse,"  who  wishes  to  exhibit  the 
sights  of  the  cathedral.  Likewise  Duroy's  waiting  and  his  rendezvous 
with  Mme  Walter  are  punctuated  by  the  steps  and  by  the  words  of 
"un  gros  monsieur,"  who  also  asks  some  questions  regarding  the  his- 
torical monuments  of  the  church.  Duroy,  like  Frederic,  first  becomes 
aware  of  the  arrival  of  his  mistress  on  hearing  the  rustle  of  her  dress. 
Here  the  wording  is  very  similar. 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

C'etait  elle,    Leon  se  leva  et  cou-         C'etait  elle.    II  se  leva,  s'avanqa 
rut  a  sa  rencontre  [Af.B.,  p.  332].         vivement  [B.-A.,  p.  400]. 

Both  women  try  to  break  loose  from  temptation,  Emma  by  means 
of  a  letter  which  she  has  written  the  previous  evening  and  now  hands 
to  Leon,  Mme  Walter  in  words,  as  Duroy  and  she  kneel  side  by  side. 
Both  subsequently  attempt  to  obtain  resolution  in  prayer,  despair- 
ingly looking  for  supernatural  aid.  Both  find  their  distress  but 
increased  by  the  atmosphere  of  the  church.  Mme  Walter  is  deliv- 
ered for  the  time  being  by  the  advent  of  a  priest,  whom  she  constrains 
to  hear  her  confession.  Emma  gives  way  to  Leon.  Another  scene 
in  a  church,  this  time  between  husband  and  wife,®^  has  nothing  in 
common  with  the  foregoing  except  the  distress  of  the  woman. 

Additional  places  of  rendezvous  alluded  to  by  both  authors  are :  a 
carriage  or  diligence  f^  a  specially  prepared  apartment  f^  the  end  of  a 
garden^^  (in  M.B.  and  B.-A.  an  arbor)  ;  the  public  street  f  ^  a  conserva- 
tory;^* and  so  on.  In  Madame  B ovary,  Leon  and  Emma  go  on  an 
excursion  in  a  rowboat.  A  similar  incident  is  found  in  Lettre  trouvee 
sur  un  noyeJ^    The  following  points  are  alike  in  both :  the  two  dine 

«9  ULB.,  pp.  13-15- 

''^M.B.,  pp.  336-38;  B.-A.,  pp.  128-29;  L.R.d.M.H.:    Un  Echec,  pp.  45-50; 
C.d.J.e.d.l.N.:   L'Aveu,  pp.  50-56;  etc. 

f^L'Bd.S.,  pp.  396,  407-8;  B.-A.,  pp.  140  ff.,  etc.;  N.C.,  pp.  112  ff.;  etc. 
■^2  M.B.,  p.  234,  etc. ;  L.S.R. :  Le  Mai  d' Andre,  pp.  125-27 ;  B.-A.,  pp.  497,  501. 
^8  U£d.S.,  pp.  395,  397,  399-401 ;  B.-A.,  pp.  540-41 ;  N.C.,  p.  121. 
'^^L'Ed.S.,  p.  176;  B.-A.,  p.  496,  etc.;  O.P.,  I:  La  Serre,  pp.  147-54- 
"  O.P.,  I,  214-17. 


RESEMBLANCES  75 

in  an  inn  by  the  waterside ;  they  embark  in  the  darkness  of  evening ; 
they  skirt  wooded  shores ;  influenced  by  the  moonhght,  they  indulge 
in  sentimental  thoughts  and  observations. 

A  situation  that  is  found  more  than  once  in  both  authors  is  that 
of  the  desertion  of  a  woman  by  her  lover.  There  is  considerable 
general  resemblance  in  this  connection  between  the  stories  of  Felicite 
in  Un  Coeur  simple  and  Rose  in  Uhistoire  d'une  fille  de  fermeJ^ 
Both  are  servants  on  a  farm  and  go  through  the  usual  processes  of 
peasant  love-making.  In  each  story  promise  of  marriage  has  been 
given  by  the  man,  and  the  distress  of  the  poor  girl  on  being  left  is 
unusually  keen.  The  likeness  between  the  cases  of  Emma  Bovary 
and  Jeanne  in  Une  Vie  has  already  been  mentioned.'^  Another 
instance  is  that  of  Mme  Walter,  who  is  found  unconscious  the  morn- 
ing after  hearing  that  her  daughter  has  gone  away  with  Du  Roy."^® 

Two  incidents  in  Madame  Bovary  have  a  long  train  of  successors 
in  the  works  of  Maupassant.  These  are  the  finding  of  his  wife's  love 
letters  by  Charles  after  her  death/^  and  the  examining  of  his  sou- 
venirs by  Rodolphe.^^  For  a  long  time  after  Emma's  death  Charles 
does  not  open  the  secret  compartment  of  her  "bureau  de  palissandre." 
On  doing  so  at  last,  he  unearths  the  letters  of  Leon,  those  from 
Rodolphe  being  subsequently  found  in  a  box.  He  is  thrown  into  wild 
despair  by  his  discovery.  In  Une  Vie,  Jeanne,  watching  by  her  mother 
after  the  latter 's  death,  takes  the  dead  woman's  letters  from  the 
drawer  of  the  "secretaire  d'acajou"  and  reads  them.  Among  them 
are  letters  from  a  lover,  on  the  perusal  of  which  she  is  shaken,  like 
Charles,  with  a  paroxysm  of  uncontrolled  grief.  A  very  similar 
instance  is  to  be  found  in  La  Veillee,^^  where  a  son  and  daughter, 
watching  by  a  dead  mother,  take  her  letters  from  the  drawer  where 
they  have  been  kept,  and  on  reading  them  make,  to  their  horror  and 
amazement,  a  discovery  like  Jeanne's.  In  Nos  Lettres^^  the  revela- 
tion comes  to  a  stranger.  Arriving  for  a  visit  at  a  friend's  house,  he 
is  given  the  unoccupied  room  of  the  deceased  "Tante  Rose."  There, 
on  looking  in  the  "secretaire  d'acajou"  for  writing  materials,  he  finds 
a  secret  compartment,  which  he  succeeds  in  opening.  He  reads  the 
letters  therein  contained,  which  furnish  evidence  of  a  hitherto  unsus- 
pected love  affair  of  the  dead  woman's.     In  Le  Pardon^^  a  wife  is 

76r.C.,  pp.  7-10;  L.M.T.,  pp.  59-64.  ^^Ibid.,  pp.  278-80. 

77  See  above,  p.  65.  «i  O.P.,  I,  55-60. 

78  i?.-^.,  pp.  552-53.  ^^C.d.L.,  pp.  208-16. 

79  M.B.,  pp.  478-79.  «3  i}ji^^^  pp.  92,  96. 


76  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

informed  of  her  husband's  treachery  through  an  anonymous  letter, 
and  again  through  a  note  to  him  from  his  dying  mistress,  which  she 
picks  up  and  reads.  In  UOrdonnance,^*  a  husband  receives  Hke  news 
of  his  wife  in  a  letter  written  by  her  just  before  she  commits  suicide 
and  found  by  him  on  her  work-table  on  his  return  from  her  funeral. 
Another  letter  from  a  suicide,  composed  during  his  last  night  and 
discovered  next  day  on  his  table,  narrates  the  causes  of  his  self- 
destruction — disillusionment,  ennui,  and  the  memory  of  the  past 
brought  back  by  souvenirs  that  he  has  preserved.®''  Here  might  be 
mentioned  the  letter  of  Emma  to  Charles  explaining  the  poisoning  of 
herself.*®  Letters  taken  from  under  a  "prie-Dieu"  in  the  Madeleine, 
according  to  Les  Caresses,^''  have  again  to.  do  with  a  love  intrigue. 
A  variation  in  the  medium  of  revelation  occurs  in  Un  Fou^^  and  in 
Un  Cas  de  divorce.^^  In  the  former  a  journal  discovered  after  his 
death  in  the  secretary  of  an  esteemed  judge  shows  him  to  have  been 
afflicted  with  homicidal  mania  and  to  have  committed  murders  under 
its  compulsion.  In  the  latter  the  journal  of  the  husband  is  quoted 
by  the  lawyer  for  the  wife  as  proving  "la  folic  poetique"  on  the  part 
of  the  man,  and  consequent  good  reason  for  the  granting  of  the 
divorce. 

We  come  now  to  the  second  incident  named  at  the  beginning  of 
the  preceding  paragraph,  which  is  the  examining  of  his  souvenirs  by 
Rodolphe.  This  he  does  after  leaving  Emma  and  before  writing  his 
letter  of  farewell  to  her.  He  has  kept  these  souvenirs  in  an  old 
biscuit-box  and  turns  them  about  with  callous  indifference.^^  A  some- 
what similar  collection  of  souvenirs  is  enumerated  by  the  suicide 
who  has  been  spoken  of  above  as  having  left  a  letter  explaining  his 
departure.®^  Olivier  Bertin  also  spends  some  time  in  going  through 
his  souvenirs  of  the  countess®^ — sorrowfully,  like  the  "Suicide,"  not 
heartlessly,  like  Rodolphe.  Sorrowfully  also  does  "la  baronne"  inspect 
her  "relics"®^ — the  "relics"  which  afterwards  reveal  her  secret  to  her 
daughter.    Jeanne  herself,  we  are  told,  is  preparing  her  "boite  aux 

8*L.M.(7.,  pp.  96-101. 

^^LS.R.:   Suicides,  pp.  229-39. 

8«  M.B.,  pp.  435-37.  ^^  M.B.,  p.  279. 

87  L./>./?.,  pp.  281-88.  9iL.5'.i?.;    Suicides,  ^.  2Z7. 

88  M.Par.,  pp.  i6i-73-  ^^  F.c.l.M.,  pp.  295-96. 
»^L'I.B.,  pp.  218-29.                         ®^  U.V.,  pp.  33,  227-28. 


RESEMBLANCES  77 

reliques."^*  The  incriminating  letters  in  La  Veillee  have  also  been 
"relics."^*^  Finally  we  have  mention  in  Pierre  et  Jean  of  "le  tiroir 
inconnu  ou  Ton  serre  les  reliques  d'amour."^*  It  will  be  noticed  that 
the  two  incidents  of  the  revealing  letters  and  the  souvenirs  are  com- 
bined in  three  of  the  cases  cited  from  Maupassant — that  of  "la 
baronne"  in  Une  Vie,  that  of  the  "Suicide,"  and  that  of  the  mother  in 
La  Veillee. 

There  still  remain  to  be  noted  many  incidents  similar  in  the  two 
writers.  In  UEducation  sentimentale  and  Une  Vie  we  have  related 
a  father's  repugnance  for  his  child,  whom  he  kisses  in  each  case  under 
compulsion  "du  bout  des  levres."^^  The  example  of  a  man  who, 
through  idleness,  devotes  himself  to  a  perfectly  useless  and  foolish 
occupation  is  furnished  in  Madame  Bovary  by  Binet,  who  spends  all 
his  spare  moments  in  the  fashioning  of  wooden  napkin-rings.^®  Mau- 
passant has  two  characters  who  do  similar  things.  Cachelin  in 
UHeritage^^  occupies  his  time  after  leaving  the  "bureau"  in  cutting 
out  covers  for  cigar  boxes  with  a  "fine  mechanical  saw,"  which  cor- 
responds to  Binet's  lathe.  Likewise  Marowsko  in  Pierre  et  Jean 
spends  much  of  his  time  in  making  "des  sirops  et  des  liqueurs,"  with- 
out succeeding  in  putting  any  on  the  market.^^"  The  case  of  Regim- 
bart  in  UEducation  sentimentale  is  also  that  of  one  who  spends  his 
days  in  aimless  idling.^^^  His  time,  when  Frederic  comes  to  know 
him,  is  passed  in  going  from  one  cafe  to  another,  eating,  dtinking, 
reading  the  newspapers,  or  sitting  in  morose  taciturnity  until  the  pro- 
prietor turns  him  out,  often  after  midnight.  Towards  the  end  of  the 
book  we  find  him  in  "un  petit  cafe  sur  la  place  de  la  Bastille,  o\x  il  se 
tenait  toute  la  journee,  dans  le  coin  de  droite,  au  fond,  ne  bougeant 
pas  plus  que  s'il  avait  fait  partie  de  Timmeuble."  There  he  sits,  let- 
ting fall  from  time  to  time  the  word  "Bock !"  for  he  has  reduced  his 
speech  to  the  indispensable.  He  resembles  closely  Maupassant's 
picture  of  a  habitual  "bockeur"  in  his  story  <(.Gargon,  un  Bock!»'^'^^ 
The  "Bockeur"  thus  describes  his  life : 

9*  Uy.,  p.  228.  ^^UBdS.,  pp.  553-54;  U.V.,  p.  213. 

95  OJ".,  I,  58.  98  M.B.,  pp.  104,  138,  163,  284,  422-23. 

96  P.eJ.,  p.  103.  »^  M.Har.,  p.  155. 

100  p,e.J.,  p.  49. 

101  LM.S.,  pp.  55,  246,  319-20,  564-65. 

102  M.Har.,  pp.  231-41 ;  cf .  also  MPar.,  pp.  49-52,  62,  72-73,  where  the  same 
incident  occurs,  told  at  greater  length. 


78  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Je  me  leve  a  midi.  Je  viens  ici,  je  dejeune,  je  bois  des  bocks,  j'attends 
la  nuit,  je  dine,  je  oois  des  bocks;  puis,  vers  une  heure  et  demie  du  matin, 
je  retourne  me  coucher  parce  qu'on  ferme.  C'est  ce  qui  m'embete  le  plus. 
Depuis  dix  ans,  j*ai  bien  passe  six  annees  sur  cette  banquette,  dans  mon 
coin;  et  le  reste  dans  mon  lit,  jamais  ailleurs.  Je  cause  quelquefois  avec 
des  habitues.^*^^ 

All  through  the  conversation  which  the  "Bockeur"  has  with  the 
other  personage  of  the  story  he  calls  out  constantly  the  words  which 
form  the  title,  «Gargon,  un  Bock!» — an  exclamation  not  quite  so 
laconic  as  Regimbart's  "Bock !"  At  the  end  of  the  story  he  breaks  his 
pipe  and  laments  over  the  time  it  will  take  him  to  bring  another  to  the 
same  pitch  of  perfection.  This  recalls  Dussardier,^*^*  to  whom  hap- 
pens the  same  accident,  with  the  same  regret  following.  Both  Flau- 
bert and  Maupassant  describe  in  varying  terms  places  of  entertain- 
ment which  have  in  common  the  account  they  give  of  the  motley 
crowd.^*'^  An  incident  alluded  to  in  each  author  is  the  following. 
Rosanette  in  UEducation  sentimentale  throws  crumbs  to  the  fish  in 
the  "etang  des  carpes"  at  Fontainebleau  during  her  visit  to  the 
chateau  with  Frederic.^*^**  In  his  house  Walter,  in  Bel-Ami,  has  a 
large  pond,  with  small  fountains,  containing  "quelques  enormes  pois- 
sons  rouges,"^"^  which  are  tame  and  come  to  the  surface  to  be  fed.^"* 
Another  animal  instance  is  as  follows.  In  Un  Coeur  simple,  it  will 
be  remembered,  there  is  a  parrot  which  becomes  the  pet  of  Felicite, 
which  is  stuffed  after  its  death,  and  which  the  simple  woman  comes 
to  confuse  in  her  thought  with  the  representations  she  has  seen  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.^*'^  In  two  of  his  tales  Maupassant  speaks  of  parrots.  In 
Boitelle^'^^  he  merely  gives  a  description  of  the  different  bright- 
colored  and  noisy  parrots  exposed  for  sale  on  the  quays  at  Havre.  In 
Le  Noye^^^  he  tells  the  story  of  a  woman  whose  husband  has  been 
drowned  after  she  has  suffered  years  of  abuse  from  him.  She  buys 
a  parrot  at  a  sale,  but  is  so  terrified  on  hearing  it  speak  to  her  in  the 
voice  of  her  husband  and  in  the  words  with  which  he  had  been  wont 

103  M.Har.,  p.  235.  ^^*  L'£dS.,  pp.  44-45- 

105  For  example,  U2d.S.,  pp.  163  ff.;  Toine:  L'Armoire,  pp.  150-51 ;  L'l.B.: 
Le  Masque,  pp.  159-75;  B.-A.,  pp.  18  flf. ;  O.P.,  II:    Essai  d' Amour,  pp.  57-58- 

108  L'EdS.,  p.  462.  107  B.-A.,  p.  489. 

108B.-/4.,  pp.  509,  510-11,  513,  514;  cf.  Sal,  pp.  14-15;  cf.  also  O.P.,  II: 
Un  Diner  et  quelques  idies,  p.  63. 

109  T.C.,  pp.  40  ff. 

110L.M.G.,  pp.  78-80.  ^^^L'I.B.,  pp.  119-33. 


RESEMBLANCES  79 

to  assail  her,  that  she  regards  it  as  a  re-embodiment  of  his  spirit,  kills 
it,  and  throws  it  into  the  sea,  afterward  praying  to  be  forgiven  for  the 
crime  she  thinks  she  has  committed.  This  story  is  like  Un  Coeur 
simple  in  the  connection  of  the  parrot  with  the  supernatural. 

In  Madame  Bovary,  L'Education  sentimentale,  Uimitile  Beaute 
and  Fort  comme  la  Mort  are  pictured  scenes  in  theatres  during  a  rep- 
resentation. ^^^  AH  give  some  general  descriptions  of  the  crowd,  of 
the  movement,  of  the  greetings  and  conversations  there  taking  place. 
Those  in  Madame  Bovary  and  in  Fort  comme  la  Mort  are  alike  in 
some  particulars.  Emma  in  the  one  book,  Olivier  Bertin  in  the  other, 
connect  the  music  and  the  words  of  the  opera  with  their  own  melan- 
choly thoughts  and  are  stirred  by  the  strong  love  interest  of  the 
story. 

Like  Flaubert,  Maupassant  speaks  not  seldom  of  various  forms 
of  human  malady.  He  gives,  for  instance,  a  description  of  a 
diphtheria  case,  as  does  Flaubert  in  L'Education  sentimentale}^^ 
One  account  of  misfortune  which  has  details  of  likeness  to  a  passage 
in  the  works  of  the  older  man  is  that  of  "le  pere  Clovis"  in  Mont- 
Oriol.  The  old  beggar,  "cured"  the  year  before  by  his  daily  baths 
in  the  waters  of  the  Oriol  spring,  has  become  more  incapacitated  than 
ever,  and  laments  his  bad  fortune  in  public  to  all  who  will  listen  to 
him.^^*  So  also  does  the  blind  mendicant  in  Madame  Bovary,  whom 
Homais  has  tried,  and  failed,  to  cure.^^^  Andermatt  in  Mont-Oriol, 
like  Homais,  tries  to  have  the  beggar  imprisoned.  UnHke  Homais 
he  does  not  succeed  in  this,  but  he  manages  to  silence  old  Clovis  by 
other  means.^^^ 

Several  duels  are  depicted  by  the  two  authors.  The  points  of 
resemblance  between  the  duels  of  Frederic  and  Duroy  have  already 
been  considered.^^^  In  UHeritage^^^  a  duel  is  threatened  between 
Maze  and  Lesable,  whom  the  former  has  insulted.  As  in  Frederic's 
duel,  information  has  to  be  sought  from  authorities  on  certain  tech- 
nical matters.  The  occurrence  is  rendered  ridiculous,  like  the  duels 
of  Frederic  and  Duroy,  even  more  so,  in  fact,  in  that  the  usual  satis- 
faction is  avoided  through  the  signing  by  the  principals  of  documents 

"2M.j5.^  pp.  307-16;  L'M.S.,  pp.  126-27;  VLB.,  pp.  22-34;  F.C.I.M.,  pp. 
317-32. 

113  L'Bd.S.,  pp.  401-4;  SIE.,  pp.  86-92.    115  M.B.,  p.  473- 

ii*ilf.-0.,  pp.  235-37.  ii«M.5.,  p.  474;  M.-O.,  pp.  236-38. 

^^'^  U£dS.,  pp.  318-30;  B.-A.,  pp.  230-49;  see  also  above,  pp.  68,  69. 

lis  M.Har.,  pp.  1 10-16. 


8o  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

containing  mutual  excuses.  In  Un  Ldche^^^  the  "coward"  of  the 
story  is  involved  in  a  duel,  owing  to  an  insult  offered  to  a  woman  with 
whom  he  happens  to  be.  As  in  the  cases  of  Frederic  and  Duroy  his 
approval  of  himself  is  replaced  by  fear.  Like  them  he  looks  in  the 
glass  and  finds  himself  pale.  His  terror  increases  until  it  surpasses 
even  that  of  Cisy  in  UEducation  sentimentale.  He  finally  commits 
suicide  because  he  feels  that  he  cannot  face  the  ordeal.  Un  Duel 
relates  a  happening  of  a  different  kind.  In  it  a  Frenchman  kills  a 
German  who  has  insulted  him  as  a  Frenchman  after  the  defeat  of 
1870.  The  element  of  caricature,  always  present  in  these  accounts 
of  duels,  is  supplied  here  by  the  introduction  of  two  Englishmen  who 
act  as  seconds  to  the  Frenchman,  and  by  the  fact  that  the  victor  has 
never  before  held  a  pistol,  while  his  antagonist  is  an  army  officer.^^" 
Another  war  story,  Boule  de  Suif,  introduces  the  hunger  motif, 
which  is  found  besides  in  Idylle  and  Le  Vagabond,  as  well  as  in 
Sdammho}^^  All  emphasize  the  commanding,  brutalizing  power  of 
hunger  and  the  voracity  of  the  hungry  before  the  sight  of  food.  In 
Le  Vagabond  also,  as  in  Salammbd,  are  mentioned  the  dreams  of  food 
characteristic  of  a  condition  of  starvation.^^^  Both  Flaubert  and 
Maupassant  give  an  unpleasant  picture  of  an  old  man,  pitiable  in  his 
infirmity,  who  is  a  gourmand,  and  who  shows  his  gourmandism  by 
pointing  or  grasping  helplessly  at  the  dishes  before  him.^^^  The  two 
writers  also  indulge  their  fondness  for  satire  at  the  expense  of  the 
citizen-soldiers  who  make  clumsy  and  ineffective  efforts  to  rouse 
themselves  from  their  corpulent  sloth  to  the  defence  of  their  coun- 
try.^^*    Two  passages  on  this  subject  are  somewhat  alike. 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

Les  uns,  s'imaginant  qu'il  fallait  Les  gros  n'allaient  pas  par   les 

beaucoup  manger  pour  acquerir  des  rues   qu'au  pas  gymnastique  pour 

forces,   se  gorgeaient,   et  d'autres,  fondre   leur    graisse    et   prolonger 

incommodes    par   leur    corpulence,  leur  haleine,   les   faibles  portaient 

s'extenuaient    de    jeunes    pour    se  des   fardeaux   pour    fortifier  leurs 

faire  maigrir  [^SaL,  p.  120].  muscles   {C.d.L.:  U.C.d'E.,  pp.  15- 

16]. 

"9  C.dJ.e.d.l.N.,  pp.  107-21.  120  O.P.,  I,  159-61. 

1215.^.5".,  pp.  22-29,  75-76;  M.Har.,pp.  203-11;  L.H.,  pp.  227-42;  Sal.,  pp. 
361-68. 

122  5-0/.,  pp.  366-67;  L.H.:   L.V.,  p.  228. 

^^^M.B.,  p.  68;  L.H.:   Une  Famille,  pp.  178-81. 

1245*0/.,  p.  120;  Cd.L.:  Un  Coup  d'Hat,  pp.  15-16;  Toine:  Les  Prisonniers, 
p.  181. 


RESEMBLANCES  8l 

Still  another  likeness  to  Salammho  is  the  mention,  in  Le  Lapin,^^^ 
of  the  horses  neighing  towards  the  morning  light,  as  do  the  sacred 
horses  towards  the  sun  in  the  former  story. 

Many  passages  in  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  give  descriptions  of 
death,  of  burial,  and  of  the  resting-places  of  the  dead.^^®  In  the 
nature  of  the  case  they  have  much  in  common.  Scrutiny,  however, 
fails  to  reveal  any  distinctive  likenesses,  resemblances  being  confined 
to  the  universal  circumstances  and  concomitants  of  this  human  expe- 
rience. Among  the  famous  cemeteries  described  are  those  of  Pere- 
Lachaise  and  Montmartre  in  Paris,  and  the  "Cimetiere  des  Capucins" 
near  Palermo  in  Sicily.^"  The  frequency  of  such  descriptions  is  to 
be  connected  with  the  thought  of  death  entertained  by  the  two 
authors.  This  has  been  referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter.^^^  Fre- 
quent, likewise,  are  scenes  on  board  passenger  boats.^^^  All  those 
cited  mention  the  start  of  the  boat,  and  all  except  Un  Echec  and  Une 
Vie  speak  of  the  bustle  and  noise  on  board.  In  Un  Echec  the  man 
telling  the  story  watches  a  woman  on  deck,  as  Frederic  does  Mme 
Arnoux.  The  woman  reads  and  smiles  while  reading,  as  Mme 
Arnoux  is  pictured  doing.  The  man  makes  advances  to  her,  like 
Frederic,  and  is  more  successful  therein  than  the  latter.  La  Mer 
resembles  the  Flaubertian  description  in  that  the  people  take  dinner 
during  the  passage. 

Flaubert  and  Maupassant  were  both  natives  of  Normandy  and 
have  left  us  numerous  pictures  of  the  Norman  countryside  (which 
both  knew  and  loved),  especially  of  that  portion  lying  between  Rouen 
and  the  sea.  Each  portrays  the  plains  and  the  undulating  stretches, 
with  clumps  of  trees  at  intervals,  the  dusty  highroads  running  like 
ribbons  through  the  country,  the  farms  protected  by  rows  of  poplars 

125  Sal,  p.  21 ;  L.M.G.,  p.  io6. 

i2«For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  435-49,  453-69;  L'M.S.,  pp.  537-50,  574-76,  583- 
85;  T.C.:  U.CS.,  pp.  37-38,  57-64;  L.M.T.:  En  P.,  pp.  150-54,  167,  169-76; 
Les  Tomhales,  pp.  251-57;  C.d.l.B.:  La  Tomhe,  pp.  253-60;  L.M.G.:  L'Ordon- 
nance,  pp.  95-96,  La  Morte,  pp.  221-30;  U.V.,  pp.  230-45,  246-47;  B.-A.,  pp. 
278-89;  F.c.lM.,  pp.  354-72. 

127  U£d  S.,  pp.  548-49 ;  L.M.T. :    Les  Tomhales,  pp.  251-54  f  L.V.e.,  pp.  69-76. 

128  See  above,  p.  15. 

^^^U£d.S.,  pp.  i-ii;  O.dJ.,  Ill,  180,  181-82;  M.Har.:  Mon  Oncle  Jules, 
pp.  276-84;  M.Par.:  DScouverte,  pp.  249-57;  L.R.d.M.H.:  Un  £chec,  pp.  37-44; 
U.V.,  pp.  93-98;  P.eJ.,  pp.  231-37,  239-42;  Au  S.:    La  Mer,  pp.  10-12. 


82 


FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 


or  beeches  sheltering  apple  orchards  and  yards  replete  with  lazy 
animal  life,  the  fields  gay  with  poppies  and  other  flowers,  the  streams 
and  ponds,  the  frequent  roofs  of  thatch,  the  chateaux  with  their 
parks,  the  villages  with  their  churches,  cemeteries,  inns,  and 
"mairies,"  the  lofty  cliffs  along  the  coast.^^*^  One  or  two  descriptions 
have  more  special  points  of  likeness.  For  instance,  the  following 
paragraphs  portray  similar  scenes  in  a  somewhat  similar  manner. 


Maupassant 
II  allait  vite,  le  long  de  I'etroite 
riviere  qui  moussait,  grognait,  bouil- 
lonnait  et  filait  dans  son  lit  d'herhes, 
sous  une  voute  de  saules.  Les 
grosses  pierres,  arretant  le  cours, 
avaient  autour  d'elles  un  bourrelet 
d'eau,  une  sorte  de  cravate  terminee 
en  noeud  d'ecume.  Par  places, 
c'etaient  des  cascades  d'un  pied, 
souvent  invisibles,  qui  faisaient, 
sous  les  feuilles,  sous  les  lianes, 
sous  un  toil  de  verdure,  un  gros 
bruit  colere  et  doux ;  puis  plus  loin, 
les  berges  s'elargissaient,  on  ren- 
contrait  un  petit  lac  paisible  oti 
nageaient  des  truites  parmi  toute 
cette  chevelure  verte  qui  ondoie  au 
fond  des  ruisseaux  calmes  [L.p.R., 
PP-  3-4]- 

Both  passages  here  describe  a  little  stream  flowing  along  through 
the  country  by  a  village.  In  one  case  the  stream  is  turbulent,  in  the 
other  it  is  smooth.  The  general  appearance  of  the  river's  course  is 
the  same  in  both,  overshadowed  by  willows  and  fringed  with  reeds 
and  long  grass,  to  which  the  figure  of  "chevelure  verte"  is  applied. 
A  river  placed  similarly  to  that  in  Madame  B ovary,  washing  the 
walls  of  the  gardens  on  one  side  and  bordered  on  the  other  by  fields, 
is  referred  to  in  Notre  Coeur.^^^     One  or  two  pictures  of  farm 

130  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  16-18,  46,  61-62,  65,  72,  95-100,  153;  B.e.P.,  p. 
no;  L.M.T.,  pp.  23,  24-25:  Uh.d'u.f.d.f.,  pp.  55-58,  76-77;  B.dS.,  p.  32;  C.d.L., 
p.  9:  Un  Coup  d'etat,  p.  21;  M.Har,  p.  7;  L.P.R.,  pp.  3-4;  U.V.,  pp.  23-26, 
339-40,  344-45;  O.P.,  I,  266;  P.eJ.,  p.  19. 

"1  N.C.,  p.  231. 


Flaubert 
Elle  [la  riviere]  coulait  sans 
bruit,  rapide  et  froid  a  I'oeil;  de 
grands  herbes  minces  s'y  courbaient 
ensemble,  selon  le  courant  qui  les 
poussait,  et  comme  des  chevelures 
vertes  abandonnees  s'etalaient  dans 
sa  limpidite.  Quelquefois,  a  la 
pointe  des  joncs  ou  sur  la  feuille 
des  nenufars,  un  insecte  a  pattes 
fines  marchait  ou  se  posait.  Le 
soleil  traversait  d'un  rayon  les  petits 
globules  bleus  des  ondes  qui  se  suc- 
cedaient  en  se  crevant;  les  vieux 
saules  ebranches  miraient  dans  I'eau 
leur  ecorce  grise ;  au  dela,  tout  alen- 
tour,  la  prairie  semblait  vide  [M.B., 
pp.  130-31]. 


RESEMBLANCES  S^ 

kitchens  are  alike  in  noting  the  reflection  of  sunlight  or  firelight  in 
the  bright  kitchen  utensils  of  various  kinds.^^^  In  three  passages 
Maupassant  describes  the  same  view  of  Rouen  as  is  indicated  by 
Flaubert  where  Emma's  gradual  approach  to  the  city  from  Yonville  is 
retailed/^^  All  the  pictures  reproduce  the  outstanding  features  of 
the  scene — the  river,  the  church  spires,  the  factory  chimneys.  Le 
Horla  is  further  like  Madame  B  ovary  in  mentioning  the  pleasant 
sound  of  the  church  bells  on  the  early  morning  air.  Maupassant  more 
than  once  speaks  of  Croisset,  Flaubert's  home,^^*  besides  describing 
in  Le  Horla^^^  a  house  and  garden  like  his  friend's,  and  mentioning 
in  Boule  de  Suif  the  invasion  of  Rouen  by  the  Prussians  during 
which  the  Croisset  house  was  occupied  by  them,  as  we  know  from 
the  older  man's  correspondence.^^®  In  the  first  Education  sentimen- 
tale^^''  there  is  a  picture  of  Havre  resembling  in  some  particulars  that 
given  in  Pierre  et  Jean^^^ — through  its  mention  of  the  throng  of 
boats  in  the  harbor,  of  the  brightness  of  the  lighthouses,  of  the  greasy 
thickness  of  the  fog.  Flaubert  has  one,  Maupassant  four,  descrip- 
tions of  Mont-Saint-Michel.i3» 

Besides  living  in  Normandy,  the  two  writers  in  question  resided 
much  in  Paris,  which  both  have  described  over  and  over  again,  Flau- 
bert especially  in  UEducation  sentimentale ,  and  Maupassant  in  the 
many  stories  which  have  to  do  with  the  life  of  the  metropolis.  As 
may  be  expected,  they  often  depict  the  same  scenes,  but  again  not 
with  distinctive  similarity.  The  greater  frequency  of  night  pictures 
in  Maupassant  is  to  be  noted.^*''  One  description  several  times 
repeated  is  that  of  the  parade  of  carriages  in  the  Champs-Elysees  and 
the  Bois  de  Boulogne."^    The  reflection  of  the  sun  on  parts  of  the 

132  M.S.,  p.  i8 ;  B.e.P.,  p.  27 ;  B.-A.,  pp.  193-94 ;  O.P.,  I,  267. 

133  Af .5.,  pp.  363-64;  C.d.l.B.:  Un  Normand,  pp.  143-44;  L.H.,  p.  4;  B.-A., 
pp.  Z21-22,,  335- 

13*  For  example,  B.d.S.,  p.  9;  B.-A.,  p.  331;  etc. 

135  Pp.  3-4.  '^^  0.d.J.,  Ill,  179- 

136  Corr.,  IV,  44-59.  138  Pp.  18,  21,  42,  93,  etc. 

139  P./.C.^./>./.G.,  pp.  310-17;  C.d.L.:  La  LSgende  du  Mont-Saint-Michel, 
pp.  103-4;  L'H.,  pp.  lo-ii;  N.C.,  pp.  75-76,  94-105. 

140  Cf.  C.d.L.:    La  Nuit,  pp.  219-28. 

^^^L'£d.S.,  pp.  33,  218,  298-99,  507-8;  0.d.J.,  Ill,  4-5;  Mile  P.:  A  Cheval, 
p.  159;  C.d.J.e.d.l.N.:  Le  Pere,  pp.  38-39;  Yvette:  Promenade,  pp.  206-7, 
209,  211 ;  L'LB.,  p.  5;  B.-A.,  pp.  352-54,  359,  533;  P-c.l.M.,  pp.  97-ioo,  104. 


84  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

carriages  and  harness  is  spoken  of  in  UEducation  sentimentale 
(P-  33)  and  in  L'inutile  Beaute  (p.  5)  ;  the  coming  up  of  a  cold  wind 
on  the  promenaders  in  UEducation  sentimentale  (p.  298)  and  Fort 
comme  la  Mort  (p.  99).  There  is  an  account  of  a  visit  to  Fontaine- 
bleau  in  UEducation  sentimentale  (pp.  459-77)  and  in  Notre  Coeur 
(pp.  229  ff.).  In  addition  to  Normandy  and  Paris,  both  men  have 
something  to  say  about  Brittany,  Southern  France,  especially  the 
Riviera,  Corsica,  Switzerland,  Italy,  and  Algeria.^*^  In  many  cases 
the  younger  man  seems  to  have  followed  the  footsteps  of  the  older  in 
visiting  these  places,  for  the  same,  or  almost  the  same,  route  will  be 
outlined,  and  the  same  names  will  occur  in  the  narrative.  There  is 
nothing  to  denote,  however,  that  the  one  was  influenced  by  the  other 
in  his  descriptions  of  what  both  saw  for  themselves.  Possibly  there 
was  an  influence  in  the  exciting  of  interest.  This  in  turn  may  have 
caused  a  wish  to  see  places  already  pictured  in  thought.  Like  Flau- 
bert, Maupassant  traveled  in  Brittany  on  foot."^  The  part  visited 
by  both  was  the  southern  shore  of  the  peninsula.^**  Marseilles  with 
its  teeming  life  is  portrayed  by  the  two  men.^*°  In  Rome  neither  likes 
St.  Peter's."®  Flaubert  praises  Michael  Angelo's  "Last  Judgment," 
which  Maupassant  condemns."^  In  La  Vie  errante,  during  the 
description  of  Tunis,  Maupassant  speaks  of  a  ruined  aqueduct  near 
the  town  as  'Taquedue  de  Carthage  dont  parle  Flaubert  dans 
Salammho"^^^ 

We  have  been  considering  hitherto  for  the  most  part  descrip- 
tions of  outdoor  scenes;  there  are  also  many  of  various  kinds  of 
interiors,  which  likewise  furnish  few  instances  of  striking  similarity. 

1*2  See,  for  example,  Flaubert's  Par  les  Champs  et  par  les  greves,  Notes 
de  voyages,  and  Correspondance;  Maupassant's  Au  Soleil,  Sur  I'Eau,  and 
La  Vie  errante. 

1*3  Maynial,  La  Vie  et  Voeuvre  de  Maupassant,  p.  183. 

^**PlC.e.p.l.G.;  cf.  B.e.P.,  pp.  38  ff.;  Corr.,  I,  283-85;  CM.B.:  Un  Fits, 
pp.  199-200;  MJ^ar.:  A  Vendre,  p.  100,  Le  Bapteme,  pp.  iZ'^-ZTt  Petit  Soldat, 
p.  288;  L.P.R.:  La  Peur,  pp.  274-75;  L.R.d.M.H.:  Une  Soiree,  p.  143; 
Au  S.:   En  Bretagne,  pp.  251-80. 

^^^Corr.,  I,  153;  III,  72',  N.d.V.,  I,  11-12;  II,  292-93,  345-46;  L.M.G.,  pp. 
202  ff.;  Au  S.,  pp.  9-10,  183-84;  P.l.C.e.p.l.G.:  Pyrenees,  p.  397. 

i«  Corr.,  II,  66;  B.d.S.:   Corr.,  p.  clvi. 

1*'  Corr.,  II,  56,  6z\B.d.S.:  Corr.,  pp.  clv-vi. 

"8L.F.J2.;    Tunis,  p.  146;  cf.  Corr.,  Ill,  ZZS'Z^,  346. 


RESEMBLANCES  85 

Each  writer  gives  a  somewhat  lengthy  account  of  a  factory.^*®  Two 
passages  which  have  a  number  of  like  details  are  those  portraying  the 
"cabinets  de  toilette"  of  Rosanette  and  of  Mme  de  Burne.^^^  Each 
room  described  is  the  centre  of  its  owner's  activities.  The  hangings 
of  each  are  of  "perse"  or  of  "toiles  de  Perse."  The  furniture  in  both 
consists  of  restful  seats,  and  of  toilet  tables  and  utensils,  some  of 
which  in  either  case  are  of  marble  or  crystal.  In  each  there  is  a  large 
looking-glass,  and  a  bath  curtained  off  from  the  rest  of  the  room. 

In  treating  the  phenomena  of  the  weather,  of  the  seasons,  of  day 
and  night,  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  are  much  alike.  This  is  to  be 
expected,  as  they  deal  with  the  same  places  and  the  same  general 
climate.  One  or  two  instances  of  special  emphasis  or  of  similar  turns 
of  incident  and  expression  are  to  be  noted.  Both  describe  days  or 
nights  of  rain  in  Paris  and  in  the  country.^^^  Both  speak  of  the 
"heavy  heat"  of  summer.^^^  Each  refers  to  the  biting  cold  of  the 
Norman  or  Parisian  winter.^^^  The  fog  or  mist  of  Normandy  or 
Paris  is  also  given  its  share  of  attention.^^*  Descriptions  of  sunrise 
and  sunset  and  of  moonrise  and  moonlight  nights  are  frequent.^'^^ 
In  its  rising  the  moon  is  sometimes  represented  by  both  men  as 
appearing  from  behind  trees.^^* 

Many  similar  things  are  portrayed  by  the  two  authors.  The 
"thing"  may  be  a  characteristic  of  personal  appearance.  Sometimes 
it  is  the  direct  glance  of  a  character.^^^    Much  space  is  given  to  the 

^^^UndS.,  pp.  279-84;  Au  S.:   Le  Creusot,  pp.  281-89. 

^^^L'£d.S.,  p.  188;  N.C.,  pp.  36-38 

161  For  example,  L'£d.S.,  pp.  152,  285,  297,  298-99,  510,  598;  M.B.,  pp.  16, 
167;  U.V.,  pp.  i-io;  Yvette,  pp.  96-99;  L.R.d.M.H.:  UOdyssee  d'une  fille, 
p.  207. 

162  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  284;  L.M.T.,  p.  39:  EH  Famille,  p.  137;  C.d.l.B.: 
Les  Sabots,  p.  99;  M.Har.,  p.  30;  L.P.R.,  p.  43;  S.l'E.:   Livre  de  Bord,  p.  198. 

153  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  88-89,  140,  294;  L'M.S.,  pp.  82,  96;  U.V.,  pp. 
158-59;  C.d.lB.:  La  Folle,  p.  41,  Saint-Antoine,  p.  223.  In  the  last  two 
examples  Maupassant  speaks  of  the  special  cold  of  the  winter  of  1870.  N.C., 
pp.  185,  195. 

16*  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  219-20;  O.dJ.,  Ill,  179;  U£dS.,  pp.  96,  413; 
P.eJ.,  pp.  88-89,  93;  L.M.T.:   Sur  Veau,  p.  191. 

166  For  example,  Sal,  p.  21;  M.B.,  pp.  223-24;  Sal,  pp.  55-56;  M.B.,  pp. 
354-55;  C.dJ.e.d.lN.:  Un  Lache,  p.  115;  U.V.,  p.  379;  U.V.,  pp.  70-71;  C.d.L,, 
pp.  8-10. 

i6«  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  274 ;  F.c.lM.,  p.  202. 

167  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  19 ;  M.-O.,  pp.  7-8 


86  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

description  of  hands — the  gnarled  and  deformed  hands  of  the  worker, 
the  "long,  pale"  hands  of  the  man  or  woman  of  higher  station,  the 
soft,  repulsive  hands  of  an  Arnoux  or  a  Walter.^^*  Feet  no  less 
than  hands  are  often  alluded  to  and  taken  as  symbolic.  The  broad, 
unwieldy  boots  of  Charles  Bovary  seem  to  typify  stupidity  no  less 
than  the  feet,  "fort  plats  et  fort  gros,"  of  Walter  Schnaflfs,  the 
simple  German  soldier, ^^^^  The  "gros  souliers"  of  the  peasants  cor- 
respond to  the  character  of  the  wearers  no  less  than  the  dainty  shoes 
of  Emma  or  of  Mme  Arnoux/®^  Mme  de  Marelle's  diamond,  which, 
held  by  a  thread  of  gold,  hangs  from  her  ear,  "comme  une  goutte 
d'eau  qui  aurait  glisse  sur  la  chair,"  suggests  Salammbo's  hollow 
pearls,  filled  with  perfume,  from  which  "de  moment  en  moment,  une 
gouttelette  qui  tombait  mouillait  son  epaule  nue."^^^  The  likenesses 
between  the  diligence  in  Madame  Bovary  and  that  in  La  Bete  a  Matf 
Belhomme  have  already  been  pointed  owt}^^  In  UAveu  and  Apres 
the  designation  of  a  stagecoach  as  a  "coffre  jaune"  is  repeated.^®^ 
There  are  several  enumerations  of  different  kinds  of  carriages.^^* 
Descriptions  of  pictures  are  common,  including  discussion  of  por- 
traits of  characters  and  of  representations  of  Christ.^^^  Riches  and 
their  paraphernalia,  such  as  "bibelots"  of  many  kinds,  occupy  a 
considerable  place  in  the  works  of  both  men.^®® 

In  Maupassant  there  is  some  use  of  names  which  have  evidently 
a  more  or  less  close  connection  with  names  in  Flaubert.  The  name 
"Le  Poittevin,"  for  instance,  occurs  several  times,^®^  recalling  the 

168  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  208-9;  L.H.:  Le  Viable,  p.  127;  L'£dS.,  p.  187; 
L.H.:  Le  Marquis  de  Fumerol,  p.  97;  L'M.S.,  p.  61 ;  B.-A.,  p.  50. 

159M.J5.,  p.  59;  C.d.lB.:    UAventure  de  Walter  Schnaffs,  p.  235. 

i«oFor  example,  L.M.T.:  L'h.d'u.f.d.f.,  p.  77;  M.B.,  pp.  83,  109,  etc.; 
L'£dS.,  p.  115. 

i«iB.-/4.,  p.  37;  cf.  also  p.  43;  Sal,  p.  259. 

162  See  above,  pp.  58-59.  ^^^  C.dJ.e.d.l.N.,  p.  52;  O.P.,  I,  298. 

^^^M.B.,  p.  35;  L.M.T.,  p.  29;  M.Har.:   La  Ficelle,  p.  218;  Ui,d.S.,  p.  298. 

i«5For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  20,  326,  416;  L.M.T.,  p.  5;  Toine:  L'Ami  Pa- 
tience, p.  29;  B.-A.,  pp.  196  ff.,  327;  L'M.S.,  pp.  214  ff.,  307-8,  etc.;  ULB.: 
Un  Portrait,  pp.  183-84;  F.c.l.M.,  pp.  19  ff.,  82  ff.,  231  ff.,  294  ff.,  119  ff.,  241  ff.; 
L'M.S.,  p.  429;  B.-A.,  pp.  478  ff. ;  F.c.l.M.,  p.  14. 

i«6For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  65-76;  Sal,  pp.  166  ff.;  L'M.S.,  p.  27,  etc.; 
ULB.:    Qui  saitf,  p.  248;  L.R.d.M.H.:   La  Baronne,  pp.  87-95. 

i«7For  example,  Mile  F.:  L.V.,  p.  226;  C.d.lB.:  N.d'u.V.,  p.  268;  O.P.,  I: 
€Corr.^  p.  97. 


RESEMBLANCES  87 

family  friendship  which  was  the  beginning  of  the  relationship 
between  the  two  men.  There  are  one  or  two  souvenirs  also  of 
Flaubert's  "Saint  Antoine."  In  Maupassant's  story  of  that  title^®^ 
the  name  is  applied  to  a  Norman  peasant,  called  Antoine,  whose 
"cochon"  is  the  Prussian  soldier  billeted  upon  him.  Other  mention 
of  the  same  name  in  comparisons  is  found  in  La  petite  Roque  (p.  44) 
and  Bel-Ami  (p.  316).  The  name  "Polyte"  is  applied  in  L'Aveu  to 
the  driver  of  a  diligence,  in  Le  Lapin  to  the  man-of-all-work  on  a 
farm,  recalling  the  "Polyte"  or  "Hippolyte,"  "le  gargon  de  I'auberge," 
in  Madame  Bovary}^^  "Paul"  in  Un  Coeur  simple  is  the  character 
corresponding  to  "Paul"  in  Une  Vie.  In  UEducation  sentimentale 
we  hear  of  "la  petite  a  M.  Roque"  (p.  13),  and  in  Maupassant  we 
have  the  story  of  "la  petite  Roque."  Occasionally  the  names  seem 
to  be  given  with  some  special  meaning  in  view.  Thus  an  unfortunate 
woman  is  called  Felicite,  and  a  false  lover,  "Bel-Ami."  Almost  all 
the  titles  of  Flaubert's  novels  are  taken  from  the  names  of  personages 
in  the  novels.  Maupassant  also  uses  largely  the  names  of  characters 
for  the  titles  of  his  romans  and  contes.  Where  he  does  not  the  desig- 
nation frequently  lacks  distinctiveness. 

In  characterization  there  is  much  similarity  between  the  two 
authors.  This  has  already  been  considered  to  some  extent  in  con- 
nection with  plots  and  incidents  which  depend  in  whole  or  in  part 
on  the  characters  of  the  personages  involved,  as  is  the  case  in  L' Edu- 
cation sentimentale  for  instance.  Some  additional  resemblances  will 
be  treated  here.  Flaubert's  best  known  character  is  probably  Emma 
Bovary,  of  whom  there  are  echoes  in  his  subsequent  work.  '  Sa- 
lammbo,  for  example,  resembles  her  in  her  longings  for  the  unattain- 
able, Mile  Roque  in  her  dissatisfaction  with  present  circumstances.^^** 
On  comparing  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  we  find  that  there  exists  a 
close  likeness  in  character  between  Emma  Bovary  and  Jeanne  of  Une 
Vie.  There  is  also  a  marked  contrast  between  them,  which  seems  at 
times  to  be  intentional  on  Maupassant's  part,  as  if  he  had  set  Jeanne 
over  against  Emma  designedly  in  order  to  emphasize  the  likeness 
between  them  by  means  of  their  differences.  In  some  cases  Jeanne's 
experiences  suggest  to  one  that  they  are  planned  so  as  to  carry  out 
Emma's  imaginings. 

168  C.d.lB.,  pp.  217-32. 

^^^C.d.J.e.d.l.N.,  pp.  so  ff.;  L.M.G.,  pp.  107  ff. 

^•^^uM.s.,V'  357. 


88  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Both  are  educated  in  a  convent  at  Rouen,  the  one  entering  at 
twelve  and  the  other  at  thirteen,"^  cut  off  from  contact  with  ordinary 
human  affairs  and  subjected  to  unnatural  influences  which  tend  to 
encourage  an  already  too  active  sentimental  imagination.  Both  spend 
much  time  at  the  convent  in  dreaming  of  love  and  leave  its  walls 
behind  with  extravagant  hopes  for  the  future  and  with  an  already 
confirmed  habit  of  mind  which  influences  all  their  future  lives. 

Each  girl  returns  to  her  home  in  the  country  on  leaving  school. 
Jeanne  has  been  kept  by  her  father  rigidly  secluded  from  the  world 
and  is  astonishingly  ignorant  of  realities.  In  her  outlook  she  is  senti- 
mental, if  on  the  whole  healthy-minded.  Emma,  while  possessing 
a  naivete  of  a  kind,  is  much  more  sophisticated  than  Jeanne  in  her 
knowledge  of  life,  and  her  sentimentality  shows  already  a  morbid 
quality. 

In  the  country  Jeanne  takes  great  delight,  loving  nature  in  all  its 
aspects,  and  filled  with  the  joy  of  living.  To  Emma  the  country  is 
distasteful,  for  she  knows  it  too  intimately  on  its  more  sordid  side, 
and  the  life  there  is  wearisome  and  uninteresting.  Both  spend  much 
time  alone  and  indulge  in  that  dreaming  which  is,  throughout  both 
books,  the  great  similarity  between  the  two  characters.  In  both  cases 
the  dreams  are  full,  first  of  expectations  for  the  future,  and  then 
of  regrets  for  the  past.  The  effect  of  the  dreaming  is  in  each  case 
the  same — ^the  separating  of  the  dreamer  from  the  actualities  of  life, 
and  the  begetting  of  unreal  or  extravagant  ideas  and  expectations,  of 
discontent  or  revolt. 

In  their  dreamings  the  two  women  reveal  the  radical  difference 
between  their  natures.  Emma  is  fundamentally  sensual ;  Jeanne  is 
essentially  pure.  Emma,  a  typical  example  of  the  "femme  incom- 
prise  et  passionnee,"  fosters  within  herself  notions  of  a  grand  pas- 
sion like  that  of  the  heroines  of  whom  she  has  read,  "la  legion  lyrique 
de  ces  femmes  adulteres"  ;^'^  Jeanne  dreams  of  a  lover  who  is  also 
a  husband,  of  children,  of  a  life  of  affection  in  the  chateau  with  which 
most  of  her  life  has  been  connected  and  which  is  to  be  hers.  Both 
exhibit  certain  delicacies  in  act  and  thought,  springing  in  the  one 
case  from  self-indulgence,  in  the  other  from  innate  pure-minded- 
ness.  Emma  wishes  for  material  luxury,  for  change,  for  something 
extraordinary  to  happen ;  Jeanne  would  be  satisfied  with  "les  simples 
bonheurs  d'une  existence  calme.""*    To  both  realization  falls  short 

"1M.5.,  p.  48;  U.V.,  p.  3.         '■''^M.B.,  p.  225.  1^3  t/.F.,  p.  370. 


RESEMBLANCES  89 

of  imagination,  and  life  brings  repeated  disenchantments  alternating 
with  periods  of  reviving  hopes.  Both  come  to  curse  "Providence" 
or  "fate"  for  imagined  injustice  toward  them,  to  regard  the  world  as 
full  of  nothing  but  misery  and  deceit ;  and  to  hate  and  despise  man- 
kind. In  both  cases  the  tendency  to  morbid  reverie  increases  as  time 
passes,  being  cherished  instead  of  shaken  off.  In  the  end,  however, 
the  difference  between  the  twd  is  again  brought  out.  Emma  passes 
from  our  sight,  as  she  dies  with  a  hideous  laugh  of  despair  ;^'^*  Jeanne 
with  a  revival  of  hope  for  the  future  of  herself  and  those  she  loves, 
as  she  looks  forward  to  her  ^on's  return  home  and  holds  in  her  arms 
that  son's  infant  daughter.^^^ 

Closely  associated  with  their  sentimental  dreaming  is  the  nervous 
malady  which  besets  the  two  women.  Both  are  subject  to  attacks 
of  "nerves,"  to  fits  of  weeping,  to  "etourdissements,"  to  "defail- 
lances,"  to  lack  of  will  power,  to  periods  almost  of  frenzy.  Both  are 
at  times  extraordinarily  upset  by  the  most  insignificant  things. 
Emma,  however,  retains  all  through  a  certain  practical  common  sense 
which  Jeanne  almost  entirely  lacks. 

The  religion  of  both  Emma  and  Jeanne  is  described  partly  as  a 
habit  left  from  their  convent  life,  partly  as  connected  with  their 
romantic  extravagances.  The  following  characterization  of  Jeanne's 
religion  might  apply  equally  well  to  that  of  Emma:  "La  religion 
de  Jeanne  etait  toute  de  sentiment ;  elle  avait  cette  f oi  reveuse  que 
garde  tou jours  une  femme;  et  si  elle  accomplissait  a  peu  pres  ses 
devoirs,  c'etait  surtout  par  habitude  gardee  du  convent.  ...  "^^^  The 
religion  of  Emma  contains,  besides,  an  element  of  sensuality^^^  which 
is  absent  from  that  of  Jeanne.  Both  are  represented  as  having  vio- 
lent paroxysms  of  religion,  produced  by  circumstances,  as  well  as  the 
reactions  from  such  paroxysms.  Each  turns  to  religion  occasionally 
in  times  of  stress,  in  either  instance  usually  with  little  success. 

In  the  conduct  of  life  Emma  sins,  Jeanne  is  sinned  against ;  the 
result  is  the  same  in  the  two  cases — misery  and  deterioration.  Both 
come,  though  for  different  reasons,  to  regard  their  husbands  with 
repugnance.  They  learn  to  dissemble,  Emma  being  urged  thereto 
by  a  guilty  conscience,  Jeanne  by  pride,  affection,  or  fear.  In  Emma 
this  trait  grows  to  alarming  proportions.^^^  Jeanne  is,  toward  the 
last,  obsessed  by  a  savage  jealousy  of  her  son's  mistress.    Emma  is 

^''*M.B.,  p.  449.  175  u^y^^  pp.  379-80.  176  uy^^  p.  262. 

1"  M.B.,  pp.  49,  298,  446.     See  above,  p.  18.  "« M.B.,  p.  374- 


90  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

but  an  indifferent  mother,  her  love  for  her  child  being  spasmodic 
and  sometimes  a  pose ;  Jeanne  is  "une  mere  fanatique,"  erring  there- 
by in  the  other  direction.  In  personal  appearance  they  are  direct 
antitheses  one  of  the  other,  Emma  being  dark  and  rather  slight, 
Jeanne  fair  and  vigorous-looking/^® 

In  certain  particulars,  as  has  been  said,  Jeanne's  experience  seems 
to  fulfil  Emma's  imaginings.  Her  voyage  to  Corsica  is  one  example 
of  this.    Of  Emma  we  read : 

Elle  songeait  quelquefois  que  c'etaient  la  pourtant  les  plus  beaux  jours 
de  sa  vie,  la  lune  de  miel,  comme  on  disait.  Pour  en  gouter  la  douceur,  il 
eut  fallu,  sans  doute,  s'en  aller  vers  ces  pays  a  noms  sonores  ou  les 
lendemains  de  mariage  ont  de  plus  suaves  paresses !  Dans  des  chaises  de 
poste,  sous  des  stores  de  soie  bleue,  on  monte  au  pas  des  routes  escarpees, 
ecoutant  la  chanson  du  postilion  qui  se  repete  dans  la  montagne  avec  les 
clochettes  des  chevres  et  le  bruit  sourd  de  la  cascade.  Quand  le  soleil  se 
couche  on  respire  au  bord  des  golfes  le  parfum  des  citronniers;  puis,  le 
soir,  sur  la  terrasse  des  villas,  seuls  et  les  doigts  confondus,  on  regarde 
les  etoiles  en  faisant  des  projets.  II  lui  semblait  que  certains  lieux  sur 
la  terre  devaient  produire  du  bonheur,  comme  une  plante  particuliere  au 
sol  et  qui  pousse  mal  toute  autre  part  [M.B.,  p.  56]. 

Allowing  for  the  romanticism  of  the  expression,  the  first  part  of  this 
passage  recalls  Jeanne's  wedding  journey  by  the  gulfs  and  through 
the  mountains  of  Corsica,  "ce  long  voyage  au  pas,"  past  its  "hauteurs 
escarpees."^®^  It  calls  to  mind  also  the  emotions  produced  in  her  by 
her  surroundings  there,  and  her  remembrance  of  these  days  in  after 
years  as  among  the  happiest  of  her  life. 

Other  examples  of  the  fulfilment  of  Emma's  dreams  in  Jeanne's 
experience  are  as  follows.  Emma  hankers,  as  has  been  said,  after  the 
nobility ;  Jeanne  is  of  noble  rank.  Emma  would  like  to  see  Paris ; 
Jeanne  has  visited  Paris.  Emma  hopes  to  have  a  son ;  Jeanne's  child 
is  a  son.  Emma  wishes  that  her  husband  were  "beau,  spirituel, 
distingue,  attirant" ;  Julien  possesses,  at  least  at  first,  some  of  these 
attributes.^®^ 

More  like  Emma  in  some  respects  than  her  daughter  is  Jeanne's 
mother,  "la  baronne."    She  is  addicted,  like  Emma,  to  the  reading  of 

"9M.B.,  pp.  20,  etc.,  148,  etc.;  U.V.,  pp.  3-4. 
"0  U.V.,  pp.  93-113,  102. 

18^  In  all  these  details  Maupassant  seems  to  be  working  out  suggestions 
caught  from  Flaubert. 


RESEMBLANCES  91 

romantic  fiction,  such  as  that  of  Sir  Walter  Scott/^^  ^q  a  consequent 
exaltation  of  passion  as  the  main  thing  in  life,  and  to  an  easy  toler- 
ance of  amorous  irregularities.  She  is  fond  of  the  nobility  and  much 
impressed  with  their  importance.  She  has  had  a  love  intrigue  in  her 
past  history,  which  is  discovered,  as  is  Emma's,  after  her  death, 
through  the  medium  of  her  letters.^*^ 

Other  likenesses  to  Madame  Bovary  are  numerous.  Those  in 
Une  Aventure  parisienne  and  La  Parure  have  already  been  men- 
tioned.^®* In  M.  Jocaste^^'^  we  have  an  instance  of  disillusionment 
rather  like  Jeanne's  than  like  Emma's,  but  attaching  to  Emma  through 
that  intermediary.  Henriette  in  Monsieur  Parent  is  like  Emma  in 
her  detestation  and  consequent  treatment  of  her  husbarid:'^*^  '  The 
following  paragraph  might  describe  almost  equally  well  the  Bovary 
situation : 

II  avait  epouse,  quelques  annees  plus  tot,  une  jeune  femme  aimee 
tendrement  qui  le  traitait  a  present  avec  une  rudesse  et  une  autorite  de 
despote  tout-puissant.  Elle  le  gourmandait  sans  cesse  pour  tout  ce  qu'il 
faisait  et  pour  tout  ce  qu'il  ne  faisait  pas,  lui  reprochait  aigrement  ses 
moindres  actes,  ses  habitudes,  ses  simples  plaisirs,  ses  gouts,  ses  allures, 
ses  gestes,  la  rondeur  de  sa  ceinture  et  le  son  placide  de  sa  voix.^^^ 

On  one  occasion  Henriette  says  to  her  husband :  "Tiens,  tu  ne  seras 
jamais  qu'une  loque,  un  pauvre  sire,  un  pauvre  homme  sans  volonte, 
sans  fermete,  sans  energie,"  just  as  Emma  exclaims  of  Charles: 
"Quel  pauvre  homme !  quel  pauvre  homme  !"^^®  At  another  time  she 
explains  to  her  lover  her  reasons  for  detesting  her  husband,  which 
might  also  be  Emma's.  First  of  all,  he  is  her  husband ;  then  he  exas- 
perates her  constantly  by  his  stupidity  and  slowness  of  comprehen- 
sion. 

There  is  further  likeness  to  Emma  to  be  found  in  Mont-Oriol. 
At  first  not  much  given  to  dreaming,^®®  Mme  Andermatt  is  brought 
through  Bretigny's  advances  to  perceive  ecstasies  not  yet  enjoyed 
and  to  long  for  them  like  Jeanne  and  Emma.^^^    When  her  dreams 

182  See  below,  pp.  156-57.  ^^^  See  above,  pp.  65,  75. 

^^^Mlle  F.,  pp.  193-205;  C.dJ.e.dlN.,  pp.  59-74;  see  above,  p.  66. 

185  Mile  F.,  p.  260.  188  See  especially  pp.  5,  22-30,  35-38,  42-43. 

187  M.Par.,  p.  5 ;  cf .  M.B.,  pp.  57,  69,  77,  86,  etc. 

188  M.Par.,  p.  27  \  M.B.,  p.  86. 

i89Jlf.-0.,  p.  21.  190  iW.-O.,  p.  139-40. 


92  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

are  realized  she  exclaims:  "Mais  je  I'aime  ...  je  Taime!"  recalling 
by  contrast  Emma's  "J'ai  un  amant  1  un  amant  !"^®^  In  her  thought 
at  a  subsequent  period  she  repeats  almost  these  words  of  Emma's, 
with  a  suggestion  of  the  latter's  delight  at  possessing  "cette  fievre  du 
bonheur."^®^  She  thinks:  "Aujourd'hui  il  etait  son  amant!  son 
amant!  Done  elle  avait  un  amant!  Elle  etait  sa  maitresse! — sa 
maitresse !  Elle  repetait  ce  mot  dans  le  secret  de  sa  conscience — sa 
maitresse  !"^®® 

Mme  Roland  is  another  who  is  represented  as  having  lived,,  like 
Emma,  by  the  side  of  an  uncongenial  husband,  cherishing  dreams 
"de  clairs  de  lune,  de  voyages,  de  baisers  donnes  dans  I'ombre  des 
soirs,"  and  as  having  succumbed,  like  Emma,  to  the  one  who  has 
brought  to  her  that  for  which  she  has  longed.^®* 

The  masculine  counterpart  of  Emma  Bovary,  so  far  as  dreaming 
goes,  is  Frederic  Moreau.  At  all  stages  of  his  career,  until  the  very 
last,  he  resembles  the  youthful  wanderer  of  A  Vendre,  dreaming 
"a  tout  ce  qu'on  attend  sans  cesse,  a  tout  ce  qu'on  desire,  a  la  fortune, 
a  la  gloire,  a  la  femme,"^®^  with,  perhaps,  the  order  reversed.  His 
propensity  for  reverie  is  closely  associated  with  his  other  character- 
istic of  ineffectiveness.  It  is  also  allied  to  his  romantic  feeling  for 
Mme  Arnoux,  which  dominates  his  whole  life  and  extends  even 
to  everything  connected  with  her.^®*  It  is,  however,  rather  Frederic's 
incapability  of  action  which  is  repeated  in  Maupassant.  Bretigny, 
for  instance,  is  said  to  be  "incapable  d'un  effort  continu."^^^  An 
extreme  example  is  found  in  Regret.^^^  This  is  the  story  of  a  man 
of  sixty-two,  who  seems  to  himself  to  have  lived  a  futile  life.  He 
reviews  his  existence  as  he  looks  out  of  the  window  at  the  falling 
rain : 

Si  encore  sa  vie  avait  ete  remplie !  S'il  avait  fait  quelque  chose,  s'il 
avait  eu  des  aventures,  de  grands  plaisirs,  des  succes,  des  satisfactions  de 
toute  sorte.  Mais  non,  rien.  II  n'avait  rien  fait,  jamais  rien  que  se  lever, 
manger  aux  memes  heures,  et  se  coucher        .        .        .        . 

II  n'avait  meme  pas  ete  aime. 

181  M.-O.,  p.  i6s ;  M.'B.,  p.  225.  i»5  M.Par.,  p.  98. 

"2  M.B.,  pp.  225-26.  i»«  For  example,  L'Rd.S.,  p.  78. 

193  M.'O.,  p.  172.  197  M.-O.,  p.  109. 

19*  P.e.J.,  for  example,  pp.  106,  187-90.  i98  M.Har.,  pp.  257-67. 


RESEMBLANCES  93 

He  thinks  of  a  woman  whom  he  had  loved  in  the  past,  but  whom 
he  had  lost  through  lack  of  the  energy  necessary  to  take  advantage 
of  an  opportunity.  A  like  indecision  marks  Renardet's  efforts  to  kill 
himself  after  the  commission  of  his  crime.^®^  Another  character 
resembling  Frederic  both  in  his  tardiness  to  act  and  in  his  dreaming 
is  Pierre  in  Pierre  et  Jean}^^  He  has  many  times  determined  to 
make  a  fortune  and  has  mused  over  what  he  will  do  with  it  but  has 
taken  no  steps  toward  securing  it  by  the  time  the  novel  comes  to  a 
close.  He  is  contrasted  here  with  his  brother  Jean,  somewhat  as 
Frederic  is  compared  with  his  friend  Deslauriers.^^^  MarioUe,  in 
Notre  Coeur,  is  also  one  who  suffers  from  failure  to  accomplish.^^^ 
The  following  words  of  his  self -accusation  might  have  been  written 
also  of  Frederic : 

II  n'avait  rien  fait,  rien  reussi,  rien  obtenu,  rien  vaincu.  Les  arts 
I'ayant  tente,  il  ne  trouva  pas  en  lui  le  courage  necessaire  pour  se  donner 
tout  a  fait  a  Tun  d'eux,  ni  I'obstination  perseverante  qu'il  faut  pour  y 
triompher.  Aucun  succes  ne  I'avait  rejoui,  aucun  gout  exalte  pour  une 
belle  chose  ne  Tavait  anobli  et  grandi.  Son  seul  effort  energique  pour 
conquerir  un  coeur  de  femme  venait  d'avorter  comme  le  reste.  II  n'etait 
au  fond  qu'un  rate.^*^* 

Of  stupid  husbands  like  Charles  Bovary  there  are  several  in  Mau- 
passant. M.  Parent  has  been  already  sufficiently  characterized  as 
such  in  the  quoted  words  of  his  wife,  Henriette.^''*  A  similar  case 
of  deception  by  the  wife  is  that  in  Le  Petit,^^^  where  the  truth  is  not 
discovered  until  long  after  the  woman's  death.  The  husband  there 
is  described  as  "un  bon  homme,  un  brave  homme,  simple,  tout  simple, 
sincere,  sans  defiance  et  sans  malice."^^®  Like  Charles  and  like  M. 
Parent  at  first,  he  loves  his  wife  passionately,  and  Hke  them  too  he 
annoys  her  by  his  awkwardnesses.  The  affection  of  each  of  the  three 
for  his  child  is  an  additional  point  of  resemblance.  M.  Lantin,  of 
Les  Bijoux/^'^  is  another  character  similar  to  Charles  in  his  affection 
for  and  belief  in  his  wife.  Thrown  into  despair  by  her  death,  he  imi- 
tates Charles  in  keeping  her  room  intact  and  in  spending  there  a 

i»oL./>.i?.,  pp.  39-41,  57-68. 

200  P.eJ.,  for  example,  pp.  4-5,  53-55,  107-8. 

201  P.eJ.,  for  example,  pp.  6,  53  ff.,  89  ff.,  etc. ;  U^d.S.,  pp.  18  ff.,  etc. 

202  N.C.,  pp.  205,  245-46.  205  C.dJ.e.d.lN.,  pp.  199-208. 

208  N.C.,  p.  205.  206  Jbid,^  p.  199. 

204  See  above,  p.  91.  207  c.d,L.,  pp.  139-52. 


94  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

part  of  each  day.  Even  the  garments  of  the  wife  are  preserved  by 
both.'^"^ 

We  turn  now  to  another  Hkeness  in  masculine  characterization. 
Rodolphe,  in  Madame  Bovary,  is  a  type  of  the  "predatory  male" 
whose  prey  is  woman.  He  has  successors  in  Maupassant ;  Julien,  in 
Une  Vie,  is  one ;  Paul  Bretigny,  in  Mont-Oriol,  is  another.  To  both 
of  these  men  may  be  applied  equally  well  the  description  given  of 
Rodolphe  as  "de  temperament  brutal  et  d'intelligence  perspicace."^*^® 
All  three  show  the  expected  cynicism  in  amorous  affairs.  Each 
makes  advances  to  the  worhan  of  his  pursuit  for  his  own  purposes ; 
each  soon  tires  of  his  conquest,  being  desirous  of  perpetual  change  in 
matters  of  the  kind ;  each  is  careless  of  the  blows  he  deals  his  victim. 
All  three  can  lay  claim  to  a  certain  elegance  and  power  of  attraction ; 
all  are  possessed  of  some  degree  of  wealth.  Georges  Duroy,  of  Bel- 
Ami,  already  described,^^"  would  also  belong  to  this  class  from  cer- 
tain of  his  characteristics. 

In  Maupassant,  further,  there  are  some  traces  of  Homais  and  of 
the  caricature  of  Voltairianism  apparent  frequently  in  the  utterances 
of  the  "pharmacien."^"  The  doctors  in  Mont-Oriol,  for  example, 
suggest  him  in  their  f ussiness,  their  self-importance  and  exaggerated 
self-confidence,  their  ridiculous  actions,  and  absurd,  would-be  learned 
pronouncements.^^^  So  also  does  the  doctor  in  Un  Coup  d'etaf^^ 
through  the  same  f ussiness  and  self-importance,  the  same  posing 
and  fondness  for  elaborate  language,  as  well  as  through  his  extreme 
desire  for  public  glory.  M.  Sacrement,  in  D Score,  is,  like  the  pharma- 
cist, obsessed  with  a  longing  to  be  decorated,  and  writes  pamphlets, 
as  does  Homais,  in  the  hope  of  attracting  the  attention  of  the  govern- 
ment.^" Like  his  prototype  also  he  "does  everything  methodic- 
^Uy  "215  Qn  ^j^g  opposite  side  of  the  medical  situation  from  Homais 
are  the  cripples  who  appear  in  both  authors.  The  "pied  bot"  of 
Hippolyte  is  repeated  in  the  "Venus  Rustique"  of  Des  Vers  (p.  136) 
and  in  the  story  of  Le  Gueux.^^^    Another  cripple  with  an  important 

208  Les  Bijoux,  p.  143;  cf.  M.B.,  pp.  471,  472-73- 

^^^  M.B.,  p.  181.  211  M.B.,  for  example,  pp.  106-7,  213-14,  etc. 

210  See  above,  pp.  67  flf.  212  cf .  M.-O.,  pp.  4,  14-15,  261  ff.,  etc. 

218  C.d.L.,  pp.  15-32. 

21*  LS.R.,  pp.  243-53,  esp.  pp.  243-45 ;  cf .  M.B.,  pp.  187,  213,  477-78. 

215  Page  251 ;  cf.,  for  example,  M.B.,  pp.  231-33,  340  ff.,  etc. 

218  C.dJ.e.d.lN.,  p.  177. 


RESEMBLANCES  95 

place  in  a  plot  is  "le  pere  Clovis,"  of  Mont-Oriol,  who  "drags  his 
right  leg"  (p.  81).  Some  souvenirs  of  Hippolyte  also  attach  to  the 
hideous  inn  servant  of  Un  Fils.^^"^  He  is  thus  described  when  first 
seen :  "II  venait  maintenant  de  puiser  de  Teau  pour  les  chevaux  et 
portait  ses  deux  seaux  en  boitant,  avec  un  effort  douloureux  de  la 
jambe  plus  courte."^^^  One  is  at  once  reminded  of  Hippolyte  as  he 
goes  limping  about  his  business  at  the  Lion  d'or  or  through  the 
village.2i» 

Besides  the  inn  servants,  others  belonging  to  the  class  of  depend- 
ents suggest  similarity.  In  Madame  B ovary  there  is  an  old  seam- 
stress who  comes  to  the  convent  where  Emma  is  at  school  and  enter- 
tains the  girls  with  her  tales  of  gallantry.  Clochette  is  the  account 
of  a  similar  old  seamstress,  whose  visits  are  among  the  childish  mem- 
ories of  the  spokesman  in  the  conte.  She  frequents  his  father's 
house  and  tells  him  stories  while  she  sews.^^** 

Love  for  children  and  the  influence  of  childhood  occupy  attention 
both  in  Flaubert  and  in  Maupassant.  Emma  Bovary  is  recalled  from 
the  orgy  of  the  masqued  ball  by  the  thought  of  Bertha  sleeping  at 
home.^2^  Charles  Bovary  is  redeemed  at  times  from  his  unattractive- 
ness  by  his  affection  for  his  child.^^^  A  similar  redeeming  affection 
is  exhibited  by  Rosanette  in  ^Education  sentimentale^^^  and  by  more 
than  one  of  the  outcast  or  unfortunate  women  in  Maupassant's 
stories.^^*  Numerous  other  instances  of  this  sentiment  can  be 
found.^^^  The  other  side  of  childhood — the  cruelty  of  the  young 
animal — is  likewise  represented  by  the  two  authors.  We  have  the 
schoolboys  tormenting  the  awkward,  shy  boy  at  the  beginning  of 
Madame  Bovary  and  torturing  the  poor  little  lad  in  Le  Papa  de 
Simon}^^ 

Most  of  the  resemblances  just  discussed  have  to  do  with  Madame 
Bovary;  there  are  also  a  few  associated  with  Salammbo.  There  is  a 
certain  similarity  between  the  upbringing  and  outlook  of  Salammbo 
and  Jeanne.  Both  have  been  kept  by  their  fathers  shut  up  from  con- 
tact with  the  world  and  come  to  meet  it  in  consequence  with  greater 

217  C.d.l.B.,  pp.  205-13.  210  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  195,  262. 

218  Un  Fils,  p.  205.  220  L^H.,  pp.  81-82. 

221  M.B.,  p.  403.  222  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  270-71,  473- 

223  For  example,  pp.  555-56,  574  ff. 

224  For  example,  B.d.S.,  p.  56;  L.M.T.,  pp.  27-28:  L'h.d'u.f.d.f.,  pp.  68  ff. 

225  For  example,  M.  Parent,  etc.     226  LM.T.,  pp.  1 19-34- 


96 


FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 


or  less  ignorance  of  its  ways.  ^^^  A  second  detail  of  likeness  to  Sa- 
lammbo  found  in  Maupassant  bears  witness  rather  to  Flaubert's 
exact  reproduction  of  unchanging  African  life^^®  than  to  any  close 
literary  relationship  between  the  two  authors.  When  we  first  see 
the  Carthaginian  maiden  we  are  given  a  picture  of  her  lofty  head- 
dress and  of  the  abundant  jewelry  with  which  she  is  adorned.  In 
his  account  of  the  Province  of  Algiers,  Maupassant  depicts  the  dress 
of  the  "Oulad-Na'il,"  which  includes  also  a  "monumental"  coiffure 
and  many  jewels.    The  corresponding  passages  are  as  follows : 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

...  une  femme  apparait,  debout 
sur  une  porte,  avec  une  large  coif- 
fure qui  semble  d'origine  assy- 
rienne,  surmontee  d'un  enorme  dia- 
deme  d'or. 

...  avec  ...  leurs  hautes  coif- 
fures a  diademes  qui  rappellent  les 
bas-reliefs  egyptiens,  les  Oulad- 
Nail  attendent.  ... 

Puis  en  voici  d'autres,  avec 
la  meme  coiffure  monumentale :  une 
montagne  carree  qui  laisse  pendre 
de  chaque  cote  une  grande  tresse 
tombant  jusqu'au  bas  de  Toreille, 
puis  relevee  en  arriere  pour  se 
perdre  de  nouveau  dans  la  masse 
opaque  des  cheveux.  Elles  portent 
tou jours  des  diademes  dont  quel- 
ques-uns  sont  fort  riches.  La  poi- 
trine  est  noyee  sous  les  colliers,  les 
medailles,  les  lourds  bijoux;  et  deux 
fortes  chainettes  d'argent  font 
tomber  jusqu'au  bas-ventre  une 
grosse  serrure  de  meme  metal,  cu- 
rieusement  ciselee  a  jour  et  dont  la 
clef  pend  au  bout  d'une  autre 
chaine  {AuS.:  La  Province  d'AU 
ger,  pp.  64,  66,  64]. 

22T5«o/.,p.6i;  U.V.,p.3- 

228  Cf.  L.  Bertrand,  "Le  Cinquantenaire  de  Salammbo,"  R.D.M.,   (June 
I,  1912),  esp.  pp.  594-95. 


Sa  chevelure,  poudree  d'un 
sable  violet,  et  reunie  en  forme  de 
tour  selon  la  mode  des  vierges 
chananeennes,  la  faisait  paraitre 
plus  grande.  Des  tresses  de  perles 
attachees  a  ses  tempes  descendaient 
jusqu'aux  coins  de  sa  bouche,  rose 
comme  une  grenade  entr'  ouverte. 
//  y  avail  sur  sa  poitrine  un  assem- 
blage de  pierres  lumineuses,  imitant 
par  leur  bigarrure  les  ecailles  d'une 
murene.  Ses  bras,  garnis  de  dia- 
mants,  sortaient  nus  de  sa  tunique 
sans  manches  ...    \^Sal.,  p.  14]. 


RESEMBLANCES  97 

In  the  preceding  paragraphs,  as  will  be  observed,  there  is  a  gen- 
eral impression  of  resemblance  in  the  costumes  described.  The  points 
of  similarity  which  produce  this  effect  are  the  towering  Eastern 
headdress,  with  its  pendent  "tresses,"  in  the  one  case  of  pearls,  in 
the  other  of  hair,  and  the  breast  smothered  in  jewelry  of  curious 
design. 

In  La  Legende  de  Saint  Julien  VHospitalier  we  have  the  picture 
of  a  "mighty  hunter."  In  Maupassant  there  are  two  classes  of  per- 
sons that  descend  from  him :  the  first  includes  those  who  are  animated 
by  a  ferocious  but  legitimate  passion  for  the  chase ;  the  second,  those 
who  are  impelled  by  an  abnormal  and  criminal  desire  to  see  blood, 
to  kill.  These  two  passions,  it  will  be  remembered,  are  united  in 
Saint  Julien.  To  the  first  class  belong  the  heroes  of  Maupassant's 
numerous  hunting  stories,  who  will  endure  all  kinds  of  hardships  and 
brave  all  manner  of  difficulties  in  order  to  indulge  in  their  favorite 
pastime  ;^^®  to  the  second  division  are  to  be  assigned  such  types  as 
"Moiron,"  who  slaughters  as  vengeance  for  the  loss  of  his  own  chil- 
dren the  pupils  intrusted  to  his  care,  and  "Un  Fou,"  who  destroys  for 
the  mere  pleasure  of  shedding  blood,  of  taking  life.^^^ 

The  pictures  of  the  clergy  presented  by  the  two  writers  in  ques- 
tion have  many  points  in  common.  For  example,  one  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  Abbe  Boumisien's  appearance  is  the  array  of  spots  on 
the  front  of  his  cassock.-^^  This  peculiarity  is  frequently  repeated  in 
the  case  of  Maupassant's  cures.^^^  Other  inelegant  personal  attri- 
butes are  likely  to  be  accredited  to  priests.^^^  The  Abbe  Picot  in 
Une  Vie,  like  the  Abbe  Bournisien  in  Madame  Bovary,  is  the  typical 
easy-going  cure,  not  too  far  removed  in  feeling  from  his  parishioners, 
doing  his  duty  as  he  sees  it,  with  considerable  insight  into  the  ordi- 
nary human  nature  about  him  but  slow  to  understand  anything  dif- 
ferent from  it.^^*  The  type  is  repeated  not  infrequently  in  Maupas- 
sant.^^^  The  opposite  type,  that  of  the  fanatical  priest,  is  represented 
by  the  Abbe  Bournisien  in  his  later  years,  the  Abbe  Marignan,  etc.^^^ 

229  For  example,  C antes  de  la  Becasse ;  etc. 

230  C.d.L.,  pp.  195-204 ;  M.Par.,  pp.  161-73 ;  etc. 
23iilf.5.,p.  156. 

232  For  example,  U.V.,  p.  35;  L.M.T.:  Uh.d'u.f.d.f.,  p.  86. 

233  For  example,  M.B.,  p.  156;  U.V.,  pp.  35,  173. 

^^^M.B.,  pp.  156-58;  U.V.,  p.  253.         235  por  example,  B-A.,  pp.  27^-76. 
^^^M.B.,  p.  476;  U.V.,  pp.  260  ff.;  C.d.L.,  pp.  3-12. 


98  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

There  are  one  or  two  other  special  details  of  similarity  between  a 
certain  priest  in  Flaubert  and  a  certain  priest  in  Maupassant.  The 
Abbe  Bournisien,  for  instance,  tells  of  being  sent  for  to  cure  a  cow  f^'' 
the  Abbe  Tolbiac  is  thought  to  have  special  powers  in  this  direction.^^® 
The  Abbe  Bournisien  is  respected  all  the  more  on  account  of  his 
athletic  frame ;  the  Abbe  Vilbois  is  honored  because  he  is  the  most 
muscular  man  in  the  district.^^®  A  phrase  applied  by  both  writers  to 
members  of  the  clergy  when  speaking  scornfully  of  them  is  "I'homme 
a  la  soutane"  or  "I'homme  en  soutane."^*^  The  representation  of 
the  clergy  in  Maupassant  tends  to  become  caricatural,  as  do  his  por- 
trayals of  the  English^*^  and  of  unmarried  women  of  a  certain  age.**^ 
In  Maupassant's  Sur  VEau  we  read  the  following  words :  "C'est 
une  foule,  et  cette  foule  est  quelqu'un,  un  vaste  individu  coUectif, 
aussi  distinct  d'une  autre  foule  qu'un  homme  est  distinct  d'un  autre 
homme."^*^  This  characterization  is  worked  out  by  both  Flaubert 
and  Maupassant  in  their  numerous  descriptions  of  crowds.  Contrast, 
for  example,  the  throng  at  the  "Comices  agricoles"  of  Madame 
Bovary  with  the  numerous  street  gatherings  of  UEducation  senti- 
mentale;  or  compare  the  peasant  crowd  in  La  Ficelle  with  the  assem- 
bly round  and  in  the  Madeleine  at  the  end  of  Bel-Ami.^^*  Both  note 
the  strange  impulsion  that  sways  a  crowd — what  Flaubert  calls  "le 
magnetisme  des  foules  enthousiastes."^*^  The  idea  of  the  accumulated 
effect  of  the  multitude's  "betise"  is  also  expressed  by  both.^**  One 
effect  apparent  in  glancing  over  a  crowd  is  noted  by  the  two  men  in 
somewhat  the  same  words.  In  both  instances  it  is  a  peasant  gather- 
ing that  is  being  described. 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

...  et,  sur  la  longue  ondulation  de  Les  comes  des  hoeiifs,  Ics  hauts 

tous  ces  corps  tasses,  on  voyait  se  chapeaux  a  longs  poils  des  paysans 

lever  au  vent,  comme  un  flot,  quelque  riches  et  les  coiffes  des  paysannes 

237  M.B.,  p.  157.  288  {/J7^  pp^  290-91. 

^^^  M.B.,  for  example,  p.  105;  L'LB.:  Le  Champ  d'Oliviers,  p.  49. 
^^^B.e.P.,  p.  324;  U.V.,  p.  274;  B.d.S.,  p.  30. 
241  For  example,  Toine:  Nos  Anglais,  pp.  203-16. 
2*2  For  example,  Miss  Harriet ;  and  Xante  Lison  in  Une  Vie. 
243  Page  108. 

2*4  M.B.,  pp.  183-214 ;  L'&d.S.,  for  example,  pp.  38  ff.,  397  ff.,  etc. ;  M.Har., 
pp.  215-18;  B.-^.,  pp.  S72'7Z' 

^^^L'£d.S.,  p.  420;  ci.S.l'E.,  p.  109.      ^^^B.e.P.,  p.  209;  S.IE.,  pp.  uo-ii. 


RESEMBLANCES 


99 


criniere  blanche,  ou  saillir  des  emergeaient  a  la  surface  de  I'assem- 
cornes aigues,  tides  tetes  d'hommes  blee  \M.Har.:  La  Ficelle,  p.  216]. 
qui  couraient  [^M.B.,  pp.  190-91]. 

Again,  as  often,  the  resemblance  here  is  one  of  general  impression, 
with  fairly  close  likeness  of  details — the  great  sea  of  men's  and 
animals*  heads,  with  here  and  there  one  rising  ^bove  the  ordinary 
mass. 

In  the  preceding  paragraph  we  spoke  more  than  once  of  rustic 
gatherings.  In  both  authors  we  have  representations  of  the  peasant 
and  fisher  classes  of  Normandy  and  Brittany.  In  different  individ- 
uals we  have  the  varying  and  even  contradictory  characteristics  of 
these  classes  clearly  brought  out — deep,  enduring,  but  often  inarticu- 
late, affection,  faithfulness,  calm  acquaintance  with  and  acceptance 
of  the  facts  of  life,  shrewdness,  cautiousness,  keenness  in  money  mat- 
ters, simplicity  no  less  than  trickery,  mental  limitation,  superstition, 
stolidity,  brutality,  roughness  and  coarseness,  low  ideals  of  morality, 
fondness  for  pleasures  of  the  table  and  for  "farces."-*^  Special 
emphasis  is  given  to  the  shrewdness  of  the  Norman  and  to  the  super- 
stition of  the  Breton.  Both  men  observe  the  nearness  of  the  peasant 
in  certain  aspects  to  the  brute.  Each  says  something  of  peasant 
costume  and  appearance.  They  refer  also,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the 
strong  frame  of  the  country  man  or  woman  and,  on  the  other,  to 
the  deformation  of  that  frame  through  constant  and  brutal  manual 
toil.2*8 

In  previous  chapters  there  have  been  considered  the  ideas  defi- 
nitely enunciated  by  the  two  men  regarding  life  in  general  and  lit- 
erary procedure  in  particular,  as  well  as  the  exemplification  of  these 
ideas  in  practice.  In  the  following  pages  will  be  treated  other  ideas 
similar  in  the  two  but  not  included  by  them  in  their  explicitly  pro- 
nounced theories. 

There  is,  first  of  all,  the  thought  of  the  salutary  effect  of  ordinary 
things.  Emma,  coming  home  in  the  diligence  after  her  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  get  money  in  Rouen,  is  turned  from  the  poignancy  of  her 
trouble  by  the  spectacle  of  the  well-known  objects  along  the  way.^"*® 
Jeanne  is  roused  from  apathy  to  new  feeling  as  she  holds  in  her  arms 

2*7  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  18,  27-28,  32-33,  35-42,  72,  190  ff.,  208-9,  237-39, 
249,  461-63,  467-69;  U.C.S.;  B.e.P.,  pp.  27-28,  37,  etc.;  Maupassant's  numerous 
peasant  stories  and  the  peasants  in  U.V.,  B.-A.,  N.C. 

^^^Ibid.  ^*^M.B.,  p.  415. 


lOO  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

her  infant  grandchild.^'^"  The  dreams  of  a  father  or  mother  over 
the  future  of  a  child  are  to  be  found  recorded  in  Madame  B ovary, 
UEducation  sentimentale,  Une  Vie,  and  elsewhere.^^^  The  emo- 
tional action  of  music  is  noted  several  times.^^^  The  connection  of 
moonlight  with  love-making  is  frequently  emphasized,  as  is  the  more 
general  idea,  of  which  this  is  a  part,  that  love  needs  special  places 
and  circumstances  for  its  development.^^^  The  thought  that  love — 
not  always  a  very  high  type  of  that  passion — is  the  only  good  thing 
in  life  is  expressed  by  both  writers.^^* 

Dreams  of  foreign  countries  and  the  longing  to  travel  therein 
have  been  already  alluded  to  several  times  as  described  frequently  by 
both  men.2^^  Usually  the  dreams  contain  more  or  less  of  what  Mau- 
passant calls  "la  vieille  poesie  des  enlevements  nocturnes,  des  chaises 
de  poste,  des  auberges,  toutes  les  charmantes  aventures  des  livres."^"^^ 
The  countries  themselves,  even  if  they  happen  to  bear  such  ordinary 
names  as  "Italy"  or  "Corsica,"  are  frequently  pictured  as  "les  pays 
bleus,  les  pays  roses,  les  pays  invraisemblables  et  merveilleux,  in- 
trouvables  et  tou jours  cherches  qui  nous  font  juger  mediocres  tous 
les  autres."^"  In  Bel-Ami  there  is  a  comparison  derived  from  this 
longing  for  the  unattainable :    "II  n'avait  jamais  songe  aux  filles  de 

son  directeur  que  comme  on  songe  aux  pays  lointains  qu'on  ne  verra 
jamais."258 

In  Flaubert's  Correspondance  (I,  158)  there  is  a  short  sentence 
which  suggests  a  much  longer  passage  in  Maupassant,^^®  the  medium 
of  communication  here  being  probably  discussion  of  the  same  sub- 

251M.B.,  pp.  7-8,  270-71 ;  L']^dS.,  p.  584;  U.V.,  p.  229;  Sal,  p.  61. 
262  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  70,  309,  310-11;  L'£dS.,  pp.  8,  6g  ;F.c.l.M.,  pp. 
321-32,  261  ff. ;  N.C.,  pp.  138-40. 

253  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  60,  274-76,  354*56;  C.d.L.,  pp.  3-12;  L.p.R.: 
Julie  Rotnain,  pp.  215-18;  U,V.,  pp.  70-73;  M.B.,  p.  82;  U.V.,  pp.  107  ff. 

254  For  example,  L'MS.,  pp.  604,  612;  L.P.R.:  Mile  Perle,  p.  141,  Julie 
Romain,  pp.  216  ff.;  B.-A.,  p.  123. 

255  For  example,  M.B.,  pp.  s6-57,  7i,  1 12-13,  271-72;  UM.S.,  pp.  97,  133, 
245,  360,  36s,  469,  584 ;  Corr.,  II,  59,  63 ;  Des  Vers:  Une  Conquete,  p.  21 ; 
L.S.R.,  p.  3;  U.V.,  pp.  53-54,  363;  B.-A.,  p.  540;  M.-O.,  p.  150;  P.eJ.,  pp.  45, 
108;  Au  S.:  Preface,  p.  5;  S.l'B.,  pp.  92  ff. 

256  B.-A.,  p.  537.       257  M.-O./p.  113;  cf.  M.B.,  pp.  56,  271.         258  Page  196. 

259L.F.E.;  La  Cote  Italienne,  pp.  36-39.  The  palaces  mentioned  are  those 
of  Genoa. 


RESEMBLANCES  .       ■  ,  ihX  :  •  \ 

ject  by  the  two  men.  The  sentence  is  as  follows :  "Quand  on  a  visite 
ses  palais,  on  a  une  telle  pitie  du  luxe  moderne  qu'on  est  tente  de 
loger  a  I'ecurie  et  de  sortir  en  blouse."  The  passage  in  Maupassant, 
which  is  too  long  to  quote,  contrasts  the  artistic  dignity  of  the  same 
old  palaces  with  the  banality  of  the  modern  millionaire's  Parisian 
mansion.  The  idea  of  the  unpleasantness  of  hotels  is  likewise  voiced 
by  both  men.^^"  The  thought  of  America  as  a  far-away  country  from 
which  one  does  not  return  is  present  in  Un  Coeur  simple  and  Une 
Vie.'^^ 

Paris,  in  the  mind  of  the  provincial,  according  to  Flaubert  and 
Maupassant,  takes  on  one  of  two  aspects.  Either  it  is  a  haven  of  all 
the  delights,  as  it  presents  itself,  for  example,  to  Emma  Bovary  and 
to  the  little  provincial  of  Une  Aventure  parisienne;  or  it  is  a  place 
of  danger,  temptation,  and  iniquity,  as  it  appears  to  Homais,  to  the 
lawyer  in  Une  Vie,  to  the  frightened  old  peasants  in  La  Maison 
Tellier,''^^ 

Contrary  to  desire  for  the  city  is  longing  for  the  country  when 
in  the  city.  We  find  it  entertained,  for  instance,  by  Charles  Bovary 
and  by  Duroy,  both  of  whom  look  out  over  the  country  and  think 
how  pleasant  it  must  be  there.^^^  The  instructions  of  country  life 
for  those  living  in  its  midst  are  noted  several  times.^**  Both  authors 
suggest  also  the  direct  action  upon  man  of  external  phenomena.^*^ 
The  contrast  between  human  circumstances  and  the  aspect  of  outside 
nature  is  emphasized  very  strikingly  upon  occasion.  As  Charles,  for 
example,  walks  to  Emma's  funeral,  the  appearance  of  the  country- 
side is  one  of  unusual  brightness  and  beauty.^®*  As  Jeanne  watches 
by  her  dead  mother  the  night  is  one  of  the  loveliest  of  an  unusually 
fine  summer. ^®^  The  romantic  idea  of  the  sympathy  of  nature  with 
man — the  "pathetic  fallacy" — is  rather  common  in  Maupassant.  In 
Une  Vie,  for  instance,  the  weather  all  through  may  be  taken  as  sym- 
bolical of  the  fortunes  of  the  characters ;  in  Ulvrogne,^^^  the  howling 

2«o  O.dJ.,  Ill,  2;  LS.R.,  pp.  5  ff. 
2«i  T.C.,  p.  30;  Uy.,  p.  366;  cf.  O.dJ.,  Ill,  167  ff. 

262M.5.,  pp.  80-82;  Mile  P.,  pp.  193  ff-;  M.B.,  pp.  168-69;  U.V.,  p.  350 ; 
L.M.T.,  p.  21. 

283ili^.5.,p.  ii;B.-^.,p.  60. 

264  For  example,  T.C.:    U.C.S.,  p.  9;  L.RJ.M.H.:   UO.d'u.F.,  p.  212. 

265  U£dS.,  p.  458;  uy.,  p.  370.  267  uy^^  pp.  235-37- 

2«6  M.B.,  p.  466.  268  C.dJ.e.d.lN.,  pp.  125-34. 


102  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

storm  corresponds  to  the  terrible  deed  of  the  drunken  man;  in  La 
petite  Roque,  the  falling  leaves  are  said  to  be  the  tears  of  the  trees 
over  the  ending  of  the  year  and  "perhaps"  over  the  murdered  child,^®® 
There  are  traces  also  of  this  thought  in  Flaubert ;  for  example,  where 
the  clouds  pile  up  and  the  rain  falls  as  Emma  looks  out  of  the  window 
after  Leon's  departure  from  Yonville.^'*^  In  general,  however,  the 
treatment  of  nature  in  Flaubert  is  more  or  less  detached  from  the 
circumstances  of  the  story.^^^ 

The  "pathetic  fallacy"  is  not  the  only  form  of  romanticism  to  be 
found  in  the  authors  in  question.  Romanticism  appears,  for  instance, 
in  their  expressed  longings,  already  often  noted,  to  flee  from  burden- 
some reality  toward  the  distant,  the  unattainable.  This  attitude  is 
embodied  for  Flaubert  in  Salammho,  in  La  Legende  de  Saint  Julien 
VHospitalier,  and  in  Herodias;  for  Maupassant  in  L^  Horla  and 
in  other  weird  stories  of  the  supernatural.  There  is  besides  in  Flau- 
bert a  certain  all-pervading  sense  of  the  mysterious,  due  at  least  in 
part  to  the  vagueness  produced  by  his  superabundance  of  detail, 
which  has  often  the  effect  exactly  opposite  to  that  of  the  exactitude 
intended.  Corresponding  in  some  sort  to  this  in  Maupassant  is  the 
weirdness  already  alluded  to. 

Romantic  thoughts  of  love,  of  foreign  countries,  of  Paris,  of  the 
future,  etc.,  uttered  by  characters  like  Emma  Bovary,  Leon,  Jeanne, 
and  Paul  Bretigny,  have  also  already  been  discussed.  Such  ideas 
are  continually  being  traced  to  the  reading  of  romantic  writers,  espe- 
cially of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  whose  name  occurs  frequently  in  both 
authors  in  this  connection. ^^^  In  thus  linking  thoughts  which  are 
represented  as  having,  for  the  most  part,  pernicious  consequences 
with  the  names  of  romantic  writers  both  Flaubert  and  Maupassant 
make  a  certain  attack  on  romanticism.  One  might  also  call  romantic 
in  a  sense  the  extreme,  even  grotesque,  caricature  of  Bouvard  et 
Pecuchet  and  of  many  of  Maupassant's  stories.^^^ 

A  kind  of  resemblance  observable  sometimes  between  Flaubert 
and  Maupassant  is  that  in  which  an  idea  of  the  older  man's  is  taken 

2«9  L.p.R.,  p.  33.  270  M.B.,p.  167. 

271  For  example,  the  general  treatment  of  nature  in  Madame  Bovary. 

272  For  example,  M,B.,  pp.  48-53;  L'£d.S.,  pp.  19,  21-22,  25,  etc.;  U.V.,  p.  33; 
P.eJ.,  p.  13 ;  O.P.,  II :  UAngilus,  p.  188. 

273  Compare  on  the  subject  of  romanticism  in  Maupassant  the  article  by 
Olin  H.  Moore  on  "The  Romanticism  of  Guy  de  Maupassant"  in  P.M.L.A. 
(March,  1918),  pp.  96-134. 


RESEMBLANCES  103 

up  and  expanded  or  given  concrete  reality  by  the  younger.  Some  of 
the  passages  used  in  illustration  of  other  points  might  apply  equally 
well  here.  For  instance,  when  Jeanne  goes  to  Corsica,  she  travels 
somewhat  as  Emma  would  have  liked  to  travel,  sees  in  part  what 
Emma  would  have  liked  to  see,  and  finds  there  some  of  the  transports 
which  Emma  thinks  she  might  have  experienced  in  another  coun- 
try.^^*  The  stories  of  Le  Bonheur  and  Julie  Romain^'^^  also  realize 
certain  of  the  details  of  Emma's  love  longings.  Emma,  we  are  told 
on  one  occasion,  would  have  made  confidences  to  the  pendulum  of 
her  clock ;  Jeanne  practically  does  so.^''®  In  UEducation  sentimentale 
(p.  466)  there  is  a  description  of  oak  trees  in  which  they  are  spoken 
of  as  embracing.  This  idea  is  considerably  expanded  by  Maupassant 
in  Notre  Coeur  (p.  278),  where  the  trees  that  embrace  are,  however, 
not  oaks.  In  UEducation  sentimentale,  again,  during  the  watch  after 
the  death  of  M.  Dambreuse  the  carts  are  heard  rumbling  by  to  the 
market.  Maupassant  describes  such  carts  as  they  go  past  under  the 
street  lamps,  the  light  bringing  out  the  colors  of  the  different  vege- 
tables with  which  they  are  loaded.^^^ 

There  yet  remains  to  be  considered  a  type  of  similarity  which 
has  already  been  illustrated  to  a  large  extent  in  discussing  other  points 
— similarity  in  wording.  Additional  examples  of  this  will  be  given 
here.  First  of  all,  there  are  scattered  here  and  there  throughout  the 
works  of  Maupassant  phrases  which,  while  not  corresponding  defi- 
nitely to  any  particular  phrases  of  Flaubert's,  have  yet  in  their  com- 
position a  certain  Flaubertian  suggestion.     Some  examples  follow: 

"Chicot  ...  avait  I'air  d'un  bifteck  cru  cache  dans  un  bonnet  de  sapeur 
..."  [M.Har.:  UAne,  p.  187]. 

"Ces  dames  plus  chamarrees  que  les  chasubles  des  chantres"  [L.Af.T., 
P-  31]- 

"L'etrange  sympathie  des  emotions  poignantes"  IL.M.T.,  pp.  34-35]. 

"II  presentait  un  magnifique  echantillon  de  la  goujaterie  naturelle  au 
militaire  victorieux"  [^B.dS.,  p.  48]. 

"Le  jardin  fleuri  des  polissonneries  distinguees"  [B.-A.,  p.  125]. 

"Un  Niagara  de  barbe"  \_0.P.,  II,  p.  37]. 

274  U.V.,  pp.  93  ff. ;  cf.  M.B.,  pp.  56,  271. 

275  C.dJ.e.d.l.N.,  pp.  77-87;  L.P.R.,  pp.  203-18. 
278JI/.B.,  p.  86;  U.V.,  pp.  55,  123. 
^^''UBd.S.,  p.  543;  C.d.L.:  La  Nuit,  p.  223. 


I04  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Picturesqueness  of  expression  tending  to  grotesqueness,  the  use 
of  alliteration,  and  a  general  rhythmic  effect  are  the  characteristics 
of  these  quotations,  which  remind  us  of  the  type  of  phrase  with 
which  we  have  become  very  familiar  in  Madame  Bovary.^'^^  The 
exclamation  "Grrrrande  surprise"  recalls  one  of  Flaubert*s  methods 
of  emphasis  in  his  Correspondance,^'^^ 

Exclamations  of  regret  for  the  past  on  the  part  of  romantic 
dreamers  are  frequent  and  much  alike  in  the  two  authors. 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

Comme  c'etait  vieux  tout  cela!  Comme  c'etait  loin,  comme  tout 
[^M.B.,  p.  42].  etait    change,    comme   ravenir    lui 

Comme    c'etait    loin    tout    cela!      semblait  different!  [C/.F.,  p.  245]. 
comme  c'etait  loin!  [M.S.,  p.  63].  Comme  c'etait  loin,  comme  c'etait 

Comme  le  bal  dejd  lui  semblait  loin,  le  temps  ou  elle  parcourait  ce 
loin!  l^M.B.,  pp.  77-78].  meme  pays,  jeune  fille,  et  grise  de 

Oh!  comme  c'etait  loin  [M.B.,  p.      reves  [U.V.,  p.  303]. 
424]-  Comme  c'etait  loin,  dejd!  [M.-O., 

Alors    Frederic    se    rappela    les     p.  207]. 
jours  dejd  loin  [L'Ed.S.,  p.  2gg'],  Que  c'est  loin!  que  c'est  loin! 

[O.P.,  I:  Corr.,  p.  97]. 

Ces  jours  passes,  si  loin,  si  loin ! 
10.P.,  I'.Fini,  p.  238]. 

In  Madame  Bovary  the  man  with  the  music  box  and  the  autom- 
atons and  in  Une  Vie  old  "pere  Lastique"  send  forth  from  time 
to  time  "un  long  jet  de  salive  brune."^®" 

One  of  the  most  striking  descrptions  in  Flaubert  is  that  of  the 
glance  of  Dr.  Lariviere.  There  are  two  similar  passages  in  Mau- 
passant. 

Flaubert         '  Maupassant 

Son  regard,  plus  tranchant  que  Of  the  judge  in  C/wFow  it  is  said: 
ses  bistouris,  vous  descendait  droit  "il  semblait  lire  au  fond  de  leurs 
ians    I'dme    et    desarticulait    tout     dmes,    leurs    pensees    secretes,    et 

278  For  example,  "Cette  passion  merveilleuse  qui  jusqu'alors  s'etait  tenue 
comme  un  grand  oiseau  au  plumage  rose  planant  dans  la  splendeur  des  dels 
poetiques"  (p.  55)  ;  "Le  Suisse,  alors,  se  tenait  sur  le  seuil  .  .  .  plus  majestueux 
qu'un  cardinal  et  reluisant  comme  un  saint  ciboire"  (p.  330)  ;  etc. 

27»  B..A.,  p.  381 ;  for  example,  Corr.,  IV,  108. 

28ojif.5.,p.9o;  C7.F.,p.46. 


RESEMBLANCES 


los 


Flaubert 
mensonge  a  travers  les  allegations 
et  les  pudeurs  \^M.B.,  p.  442]. 


Maupassant 

demeler,  d'un  coup  d'oeil,  tous  les 
mysteres  de  leurs  intentions"  [M. 
Par.,  p.  161]. 

Of  the  literary  man  Maupassant 
says :  "il  desarticule  tous  les  ressorts 
caches  des  sentiments  et  des  actions 
des  autres"  [SMB.,  p.  82]. ^si 


In  L'Education  sentimentale  there  is  a  picture  of  fantastically 
shaped  rocks  which  has  several  counterparts  in  Maupassant. 


Flaubert 

Elles  [-les  roches]  se  multipliaient 
de  plus  en  plus,  et  finissaient  par 
emplir  tout  le  paysage,  cubiques 
comme  des  maisons,  plates  comme 
des  dalles,  s'etayant,  se  surplom- 
bant,  se  confondant  telles  que  les 
ruines  meconnaissables  et  mon- 
strueuses  de  quelque  cite  disparue. 
Mais  la  furie  meme  de  leur  chaos 
fait  plutot  rever  a  des  volcans,  a  des 
deluges,  aux  grands  cataclysmes 
ignores.  ... 

...  qa  et  la,  tels  que  des  promon- 
toires  sur  le  lit  desseche  d'un  ocean, 
se  levaient  des  roches  ayant  de 
vagues  formes  d'animaux,  tortues 
avanqant  la  tete,  phoques  qui  ram- 
pent,  hippopotames  et  ours  [UEd. 
S.,  p.  467],. 

(  These  last-named  rocks  are  seen 
here  and  there  scattered  over  a 
sandy  hill.) 


Maupassant 

Hauts  jusqu'a  trois  cents  metres, 
minces,  ronds,  tortus,  crochus,  dif- 
formes,  imprevus,  fantastiques,  ces 
surprenants  rochers,  semblaient  des 
arbres,  des  plantes,  des  betes,  des 
monuments,  des  hommes,  des  moines 
en  robe,  des  diables  cornus,  des 
oiseaux  demesures,  tout  un  peuple 
monstrueux,  une  menagerie  de  cau- 
chemars  petrifiee  par  le  vouloir  de 
quelque  Dieu  extravagant  \U.V., 
pp.  104-5]. 

...  ils  aperqurent  ...  a  mi-c6te  a 
peu  pres,  un  surprenant  chaos  de 
rochers  enormes,  ecroules,  ren- 
verses,  entasses  les  uns  sur  les 
autres  dans  une  espece  de  plaine 
herbeuse  et  mouvementee.  ...  Sur 
cette  longue  bande  de  broussailles  et 
de  gazon  ...  les  rocs  tombes  sem- 
blaient les  ruines  d'une  grande  cite 
disparue  qui  regardait  autrefois 
rOcean  ...  [^P.eJ.,  pp.  150-51]. 

Je  m'arretai  d'abord  stupefait 
devant  ces  etonnants  rochers  de 
granit  rose,  hauts  de  quatre  cents 
metres,  etranges,  tortures,  courbes, 
ronges  par  le  temps,  sanglants  sous 


281  Cf.  Balzac's  emphasis  on  "regard,"  as  in  Cesar  Birotteau. 


io6  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

les  derniers  feux  du  crepuscule  et 
prenant  toutes  les  formes  comme  un 
peuple  fantastique  de  contes  fee- 
riques,  petrifie  par  quelque  pouvoir 
surnaturel. 

J'aperqus  alternativement  deux 
moines  debout,  d'une  taille  gigan- 
tesque;  un  eveque  assis,  crosse  en 
main,  mitre  en  tete ;  de  prodigieuses 
figures,  un  lion  accroupi  au  bord  de 
la  route,  une  femme  allaitant  son 
enfant  et  une  tete  de  diable  im- 
mense, cornue,  grimaqante,  gar- 
dienne  sans  doute  de  cette  foule  em- 
prisonnee  en  des  corps  de  pierre 
[Au  S.:  En  Corse,  p.  202'\. 

The  following  points  of  likeness  between  these  descriptions  are 
observable.  A  general  impression  is  given  in  each  of  a  remarkable 
chaos  of  huge  and  fantastic  rocks.  In  the  Flaubertian  description 
and  in  that  from  Pierre  et  Jean  these  are  said  to  be  piled  one  upon 
another  and  to  resemble  the  ruins  of  some  great  vanished  city.  In 
the  last  part  of  the  Flaubert  description  and  in  the  first  and  third 
passages  from  Maupassant  some  of  the  rocks  take  the  forms  of 
animals.  In  the  second  extract  from  each  of  the  authors  the  rocks 
are  seen  on  the  slope  of  a  hill.  The  adjective  "monstrueux"  is  used 
by  Flaubert  and  in  the  quotation  from  Une  Vie. 

There  are  also  many  examples  of  the  employment  of  similar 
locutions,  such  as  "sans  doute"  ;2*2  of  similar  adjectives,  such  as 
"enorme"^®^  (a  great  favorite  with  Flaubert  and  very  frequent  in 
Maupassant)  ;  of  other  similar  words,  such  as  "frisson"  and  its  de- 

282  For  example,  Sal,  pp.  66,  133,  151,  158,  232,  260,  373;  L'£dS.,  pp.  15, 
60,  79-80,  98,  103,  109,  147,  240,  363,  369,  375,  378,  388,  393,  399,  400,  405, 
409,  421,  433,  434,  449,  460,  461,  462,  474,  482,  491,  503,  512,  527,  53i,  550, 
578,  584,  585,  590-91;  BJ.S.,  pp.  13,  24,  36,  42,  48,  57;  L.S.R.,  pp.  165,  272; 
M.Par.,  pp.  46,  53,  65,  85,  115,  119,  124,  157,  207,  234,  268,  275;  L.M.G.,  pp. 
17,  126,  130,  134,  146,  147,  193,  194,  255,  261;  P.eJ.  pp.  116,  121,  139,  140, 
169,  226,  236;  etc. 

288  For  example,  URd.S.,  pp.  52,  388,  410,  457,  466,  608;  L.M.T.,  pp.  51, 
202;  M.Har,,  pp.  157,  160;  Toine,  p.  139;  C.dJ.e.d.lN.,  p.  222;  etc. 


RESEMBLANCES  107 

rivatives  and  equivalents.^**  The  word  "degringoler,"  used  in  figure 
by  Flaubert,  is  repeated  by  Maupassant  in  one  special  figure,  which 
he  employs  several  times.-®^  It  is  that  in  which  he  describes  a  town 
on  a  slope  as  "une  vraie  cascade  de  maisons  blanches  degringolant 
a  la  mer." 

In  the  use  of  figures  there  are  a  number  of  resemblances  between 
Flaubert  and  Maupassant. 

The  "ribbon"  figure  is  frequently  found  in  both. 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

La  grande  route  qui  etendait  sans  Par  la  fenetre,  on  decouvrait  un 

en  finir  son  long  ruban  de  poussiere  long  ruban  de  riviere  ...  lM.Har. : 

[M.B.,  p.  46].  UHeritage,  p.  158]. 

Cest  un  vaste  rectangle,  laissant  Les  longues  feuilles  bruissaient, 

voir    ...    ses    rubans   de    buis    ...  pareilles  a  des  rubans  jaunes  [C7. 

[UEdS.,  p.  462I  V;V.2osl 

Related  to  the  above  is  the  "serpent"  figure.^®* 
Elle  [=  la  riviere]  etait  gelee,  le         La   Seine   ...  coulait  vers  Mai- 
soleil  donnait  dessus,  c'etait  comme      sons-Laffitte,   comme   un    immense 
un   grand  serpent  d'argent   arrete      serpent    couche    dans    la    verdure 
sur  I'herbe  lO.dJ.,  Ill,  p.  36].  IB.-A.,  p.  534].^" 

Another  comparison  found  in  both  authors  is  that  of  anything 
bright  red  in  color,  such  as  the  sky  at  sunset,  poppies  in  a  field,  etc., 
to  "sang." 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

Les     flambeaux     repandus     par  On  est  ...  exalte  lorsque  le  soleil 

terre  brulaient  encore,  en  allongeant      se  noie  dans  un  ocean  de  nuages 
qa.   et   la   sur   les   paves   de   nacre      sanglants  et  qu'il  jette  aux  rivieres 
comme  des  taches  de  sang  \^Sal.,  p.      des  reflets  rouges  [M.Har.,  p.  6]. 
160].  '  Le  soleil  baissait  vers  Thorizon, 

inondant  de  clarte  les  plaines  ver- 

28*  For  example,  L'td.S,,  pp.  13,  7i,  229,  404,  420,  499,  512,  526,  595;  B.d.S., 
pp.  12,  31,  38,  57,  70;  L.M.T.,  pp.  27,  27,  35,  35,  102,  108,  112;  L.H.,  pp.  5,  8, 
9,  30,  35,  44,  46,  210,  212,  218,  273,  276,  280,  281,  283;  M.-O.,  pp.  44,  63,  116, 
129,  141,  143,  155,  155,  173,  187,  189,  208,  208,  208,  245,  306,  349,  351,  378, 
405,  410,  423;  etc. 

285  Com,  I,  390;  cf.  M.B.,  p.  194,  and  B.e.P.,  p.  360;  L.M.G.:  Un  Soir, 
p.  128;  cf.  B.-A.,  p.  55;  Au  S.:  Alger,  p.  14,  La  Kabylie,  p.  165. 

286  Cf.  M.B.,  p.  37;  T.C.:  U.C.S.,  p.  14  (scarf  figure)  ;  C.dJ.e.d.lN.:  Rose, 
p.  16;  M.Par.,  p.  60;  B.-A.,  pp.  316,  335  (ribbon  figure). 

287  Cf.  also  O.dJ.,  Ill,  140;  M.Par.,  pp.  60-61;  L.H.,  p.  254;  F.c.LM.,  p. 
116;  O.P.,  II,  49. 


I08  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

doyantes,  tachees  de  place  en  place 
par  Tor  des  colzas  en  fleur,  et  par 
le  sang  des  coquelicots  \U.V.,  p. 
379]."* 

A  few  additional  likenesses  in  figures  are  as  follows : 
Flaubert  Maupassant 

...  quelquefois  les  abeilles,  tour-  Un   gros   insecte   ...   battait   les 

noyant  dans  la  lumiere,  frappaient  murs  comme  une  halle   \U.V.,  p. 

contre    les    carreaux    comme    des  238]. 

halles  d'or   rebondissantes    [M,B.,  Elle  ...  passa  le  reste  du  jour 

p.  239].  ...aussi  rompue  et  extenuee  que  si, 

II  accomplissait  sa  petite  tache  d  la  place  du  vieux  cheval  hlanc, 

quotidienne  a  la  maniere  du  cheval  on    lui    eut    fait    tourner    depuis 

de  manege,  qui  tourne  en  place  les  I'aurore    la    machine    a    battre    le 

yeux  bandes,  ignorant  de  la  besogne  grain  [LM.T.:  Uh.d'u.f.d.f.,  p.  81]. 
qu'il  broie  {M.B,,  pp.  lo-ii]. 

The  following  figure  is  inverted  in  Maupassant  from  its  use  in 
Flaubert : 

Flaubert  Maupassant 

les     jardins,     comme     des  La     vaste    plage    couverte    de 

femmes,  semblent  faire  leur  toilette  monde,    de    toilettes,    de    couleurs, 

pour  les  fetes  de  I'ete   \M.B.,  p.  avail  Vair  d'un  jardin  de  femmes 

153].  [Toine:  Bombard,  p.  107]. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  in  this  chapter  an  exhaustive  account  has 
been  given  of  all  resemblances  between  Flaubert  and  Maupassant  in 
plot,  incident,  characterization,  idea,  and  wording.  Many  similari- 
ties which  presented  themselves  have  indeed  been  rejected  for  one 
reason  or  another.  Those  included  have  been  observed  by  the  writer 
in  the  course  of  several  complete  readings  of  the  two  authors  in  ques- 
tion. Further  perusal  would  without  doubt  reveal  others  which  might 
be  instanced.  The  attempt  has  been  made  all  through  to  call  attention 
especially  to  the  likenesses  which  are  striking  or  at  least  fairly  close. 
These  may  not,  as  indeed  they  hardly  appear  to  do,  argue  for  the  most 
part  conscious  imitation  of  Flaubert  by  Maupassant;  they  certainly 
do  seem  to  show  a  considerable  degree  of  suggestive  influence. 

288  Cf.  also  LM.T.:  L'h.d'u.f.d.f.,  p.  97;  Mile  F.,  p.  211 ;  L.P.R.,  p.  34. 


CHAPTER  VI 
SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSION 

In  the  preceding  pages  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  consider  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  literary  relationship  between  Flaubert  and 
Maupassant.  It  had  its  roots,  as  we  have  seen,  in  a  family  acquaint- 
anceship, which  developed  in  the  course  of  time  into  a  paternal  love 
and  solicitude  on  the  part  of  the  older  man,  corresponding  to  an 
admiring  affection  on  the  part  of  the  younger.  The  literary  element 
was  introduced  through  the  master-and-pupil  intimacy,  which  ex- 
tended over  at  least  seven  years.  The  two  men  were  further  bound 
together  by  similarities  of  experience  which  led  them  to  cherish  much 
the  same  theories  regarding  life.  Like  literary  tenets  were  also  held 
by  both.  Such  resemblances  in  attitude  toward  the  world  and  litera- 
ture seem  to  be  attributable,  in  part  at  least,  to  personal  intercourse 
between  the  two  writers. 

In  practice  the  likeness  between  the  works  of  the  authors  in  ques- 
tion may  be  traced  with  comparative  clearness.  There  is  to  be  noted, 
first  of  all,  an  embodiment  therein  of  the  similar  general  and  literary 
theories  which  have  been  seen  to  be  definitely  stated  by  both.  There 
is,  further,  an  employment  by  each  of  ordinary  realistic  procedes, 
some  of  which  may  come  from  the  older  man  to  the  younger,  as  well 
as  of  certain  procedures  less  usual,  which  the  one  may  well  derive 
from  the  other.  |  In  the  actual  content  and  form  of  the  works  of  the 
two  there  are  numerous  and  often  striking  similarities,  a  whole  train 
of  likenesses  in  Maupassant  being  started  sometimes  by  a  single  sug- 
gestion in  Flaubert.  A  certain  lack  of  inventiveness  discoverable  on 
study  of  the  disciple's  works  would  tend  to  confirm  the  belief  in  such 
an  influence  of  the  master  as  would  help  to  counteract  the  limitations 
imposed  by  a  peculiarity  of  the  kind. 

The  nature  of  the  influence  has  become  sufficiently  apparent  in 
the  preceding  pages :  it  is  seen  to  include  both  general  resemblance 
and  specific  likeness.  It  does  not,  however,  express  itself  in  set  imita- 
tion. Rather  it  seems  as  if  the  pupil,  trained  for  years  by  the  master, 
and  brooding,  as  he  must  have  done,  both  during  that  period  and  in 

109 


no  FLAUBERT  AND  MAUPASSANT 

subsequent  days  of  remembrance,  over  the  monuments  of  that  mas- 
ter's achievement,  had  absorbed  so  thoroughly  the  essentials  of  the 
latter's  thought  and  expression  that  he  reproduces  them  almost  un- 
consciously. What  strengthens  the  argument  for  the  suggestive  type 
of  influence  is  the  frequent  difficulty  experienced  in  putting  side  by 
side  the  exact  points  of  resemblance  between  two  passages  which 
impress  one  as  closely  similar.  The  fact  that  both  men  expressed 
themselves  in  so  many  words  as  opposed  to  the  imitation  of  one 
author  by  another  would  lend  further  weight  to  the  contention  that 
the  kind  of  influence  traceable  between  the  two  men  is  suggestive 
rather  than  imitative. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  a  considerable  portion  of  Maupas- 
sant's work  is,  of  course,  distinctively  his  own.  Other  influences  be- 
sides that  of  Flaubert  are  also  seen  to  have  operated  upon  him. 
We  have  said  more  than  once  already,  for  instance,  that  Flaubert 
and  Maupassant  were  men  of  their  day  and  generation  and  suscep- 
tible to  impressions  of  current  thought  and  event.  They  belonged 
to  a  circle  which  discussed  literary  matters  and  other  affairs  of  the 
day  with  the  utmost  freedom.  Evidences  of  effects  produced  by 
realistic  writers  other  than  Flaubert  are  discoverable  in  the  works  of 
the  younger  man.  Many  of  these  authors  are  mentioned  by  him 
with  words  of  intimacy  or  of  admiration.  There  are  also  many 
outstanding  points  of  similarity  between  their  work  and  his.  The 
following  instances  are  given.  From  Balzac  may  come  accounts  of 
business  transactions  and  of  magnetism,  and  types  of  character,  such 
as  the  financial  magnate  and  the  ruthless  adventurer,  as  well  as  a  cer- 
tain element  of  driving  force  in  many  stories.  To  Zola  may  possibly 
be  attributed  the  tendency  to  "mention  the  unmentionable  with  the 
greatest  possible  fulness."  He  may  also  be  partly  responsible  for 
Maupassant's  treatment  of  crowds  and  use  of  symbols.  Suggestions 
of  Daudet  are  to  be  found  in  the  employment  of  southern  exclama- 
tions, in  the  description  of  M.  Patissot's  paraphernalia,  which  makes 
us  think  of  Tartarin  (O.P.,  II,  12),  in  a  frequent  tenderness  toward 
children,  and  in  the  repetition  of  certain  incidents.  There  are  other 
writers  also  who  might  be  named  in  connection  with  the  question 
of  Maupassant's  indebtedness,  but  those  already  referred  to  will 
suffice  by  way  of  example.  When  all  allowances  have  been  made, 
however,  it  yet  remains  true  that  Maupassant  is  the  disciple  of  Flau- 
bert and  owes  to  that  master's  influence  much  that  is  best  in  his  own 
work. 


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